Whatever Happened
by BregoArodShadowfax
Summary: Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy… Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:**kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:**Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 1/?  
**Word Count:** 3951  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:**For recent chapters

**Chapter One**

He was on the wrong side of the island.

Granted, it was on purpose, but the fact remained that he still had a good five-day walk to get to where he was going, and the prospect of doing it alone over land he didn't even have an accurate map for wasn't a fun one.

He had enough supplies to last him about two weeks if he was careful (and he could live a lot longer than that without food or water, even though it wasn't really something he wanted to experience again if he could help it), but even so he only had a week until the deadline so that was the least of his worries.

His destination was a large complex that had been a Marine base until the higher-ups had decided patrolling such a desolate stretch of ocean in the New World was low on their list of priorities and had it decommissioned. Bounty hunters had moved in at some point after they'd left, probably in part because it was still fairly new and equipped with places to keep any unfortunate pirates they'd caught until they could pass them along to the Marines.

The biggest reason, though, was its location: high on a cliff overlooking the strait, access from the front was impossible since any boat trying to approach would be seen from miles away, and anybody trying to scale the sheer cliffs would likely be spotted just as quickly if they didn't kill themselves in the process.

So that only left sneaking in from the back, and since the only other viable port on the rock-surrounded island was clear on the other side, Sanji was hoping that meant they wouldn't expect anybody taking the time to infiltrate that way.

He didn't have much of a choice, though, since this was all his fault in the first place.

He hefted his large backpack, taking a mental inventory of everything else he'd packed besides food rations (extra clothing, plenty of cigarettes, a bedroll and blanket in case the nights got cold) and started to walk, glad that at least the island itself seemed to consist mainly of plains and tiny stands of trees despite the imposing rock spires surrounding it.

The day was warm, with the slightest of breezes carrying birdsong to him from over the meadows, and he was beginning to think that maybe this wouldn't be as arduous a task as he had first feared.

When the air shifted, he barely noticed at first, humming a sea shanty and pacing steadily forward until he encountered what almost seemed like a thin film stretched in front of him, glowing faintly and distorting the landscape behind as if he were viewing it through a glass of water.

It was vaguely familiar, something about it niggling away at his memory and telling him he should remember _faster, _and he nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice came from behind him.

"I'll give you five seconds to explain to me why you're trespassing on _my island."_

The voice was sensual, full of dark promise and a hint of a smirk that let Sanji know the threat wasn't for show, but the words and the glowing orb-thing suddenly caused a long-repressed memory to come slamming back into his consciousness at full force.

He spun around, mouth gaping uselessly at the sight of the man in front of him, because it was a man he hadn't seen for over five years and this was about the last place Sanji would have expected to run into him again.

The flicker of recognition flared in the other man's eyes as well, and he let the orb dissipate with a wave of his hand as he hefted a man-sized sword over his right shoulder.

"Well," he looked at a loss for words, which Sanji knew was rare. "I must say, I hadn't…"

That was about all the incentive Sanji needed to fling his backpack to the ground and throw himself at the tall man, hoping that things hadn't changed _so _much he couldn't get away with this, and he nearly sobbed in relief when the embrace was returned without hesitation.

"Sanji," Law murmured into his hair, sounding a little choked up himself. "I don't understand…"

"Shut up for a minute, shitty surgeon, and let me enjoy this," the insult slipped off of his tongue before he even registered it, memories and images long stored away flooding his senses as he breathed Law in and let himself be held.

Law's hands were running up and down his back, as if he needed to keep touching to convince himself Sanji was actually there, and his breath hitched when he buried his nose in Sanji's hair.

"I missed you," Sanji would probably kick himself for it later, but at least before they'd parted ways he and Law had kind of gotten over any inhibitions in their relationship when it came to saying how they really felt.

Yeah, five years was a long time and maybe things had changed far more than he realized in that moment, but they were in love with each other once and that wasn't something Sanji was going to ignore.

Breaking down Law's walls the first time had pretty much drained all of his patience, and he was pretty sure he couldn't go through that again, especially with everything else he was dealing with.

"I…" Law sighed, the intent of his silence clear even if the words themselves never came. "I never thought…"

"You could have let me know you were _alive," _Sanji grumbled, because really, there was no excuse. Word of the new and improved _Baratie _opening on the All Blue had spread to every corner of the world, after all, so sending a message wasn't outside of the realm of possibility. And Law had, after all, been the one to ask Sanji to save a table for him, so it wasn't as if Sanji were delusional for thinking he just might show up one day.

Hell, Sanji had even half-convinced himself Law was dead, because the other man certainly seemed to be encouraging that theory. The Heart Pirates were still sailing, and Sanji had seen them from time to time at the restaurant, but every time he tried to ask about Law he'd gotten non-answers and shrugs, even from Penguin and Shachi who, he was pretty sure, knew damn well where Law was and what he was doing.

The last time they'd visited, some months earlier, Penguin had stopped before stepping back onto the submarine and reached to pat his shoulder before saying, rather cryptically, "Sometimes people die because they're forgotten, and sometimes that's exactly what they want."

He'd given Sanji a rather sad smile and a wave as the sub had zoomed away, and that had been when Sanji had decided that maybe it _was _time to finally move on completely from the idea of ever even _seeing _Law again.

It stung more than a little, part of him wondering if anything with them had even been real in the first place (a thought that was quickly brushed aside when he voiced it to Zoro, who glared at him and told him he was crazy. Sanji knew that Zoro missed Law, too, even if he'd never admit it aloud), but regardless he'd told himself it wasn't worth it to dwell on 'might-have-been's when he had a restaurant to run.

And so he'd let go of Law, slowly, losing himself in his work and the company of his friends whenever they stopped in (which for some of them was pretty damn often considering), and realized that hanging onto the past wasn't helping any of them.

It had all started because of him wanting to get Zoro to notice him, after all, and that had happened far better than he could have ever anticipated, so to be disappointed because he didn't have Zoro _and _Law seemed more than a little selfish, especially since he and Zoro had somehow managed to defy the odds and didn't completely hate each other. Hell, Zoro stayed at the Baratie more often than not, and Sanji didn't even care as long as he took on any potential challengers to his title outside where it wouldn't break the restaurant.

Yeah, Zoro had achieved his dream, too, and Sanji would never say it to his face, but he had the strange feeling that Mihawk was all too happy to hand the title over so that he could live life without the constant hassle of having to be prepared to fight all the time. Not that Zoro didn't deserve it, of course, because Sanji knew Mihawk wouldn't have conceded defeat if he'd felt the younger man wasn't ready.

Speaking of dreams, they'd all pretty much achieved them in one way or another, and while sometimes he _did _get bored being stuck on a permanently anchored ship instead of traveling the seas freely with no other responsibilities on his shoulders, it wasn't a life he'd trade for anything. Nami and Luffy were still sailing together, Nami charting every corner of the sea they could (and, with Luffy being the newly-crowned pirate king, even more people than before were after the rather incredible bounty on his head so Sanji was sure Nami stuck around to keep Luffy focused more than anything else). Usopp split his time between traveling with them and being back at home with Kaya, and Sanji had finally gotten to meet the woman in question on one of Usopp's frequent trips to the Baratie (and Kaya really was everything Usopp had made her out to be, so for once he hadn't been exaggerating). Chopper went with them a lot, too, gathering as much information as he could about different medicines and different cultures. Robin was a bit more elusive, preferring to only travel to places that had a strong historical connection, but she rarely stayed away more than a few months, either. Franky he saw about the least, since after sailing around the world he'd gone back to Water 7 in order to help Iceburg realize his dream of floating the city.

Brook might have been the biggest surprise, because while he and Sanji had always seemed to understand each other, he'd never actually spoken of his plans after finding Laboon, but he'd volunteered to be the resident musician at the restaurant, and it had turned into a flourishing little gig with live music on the weekends and lessons offered out during the week from one of the banquet halls. He also, as he reminded Sanji, used to lead a battle convoy so he'd become the restaurant's unofficial bodyguard as well (well, along with Zoro when he was there), and Sanji honestly wondered if he'd _ever _find out everything about Brook's past because the skeleton certainly had a fascinating tale to tell.

So that was them. Not really the Straw-hat Pirates any longer, but still a crew, still in touch, and still there to help out whenever one of them ran into trouble.

Well, until now, but since that was because Sanji was purposefully withholding information, it wasn't something he could hold against them.

He realized they were still standing out in the middle of a field hugging and stepped away awkwardly, letting his eyes rove over Law and taking in the changes that the last five years had brought.

Law looked remarkably unchanged, although his dark hair was shaggier, starting to gain silver streaks at the temples, and a few of the worry lines on his face seemed deeper when he frowned. His prosthetic arm moved with him fluidly now, barely distinguishable from his real one in terms of smooth mobility even to Sanji who knew it was there. He looked tired, though, the circles under his eyes darker than before and his shoulders slumped forward as if he couldn't be bothered to stand up straight anymore.

"Would you…" Law cleared his throat. "Would you like to come to my place? I can offer you tea, although I'm afraid my kitchen is rather under-stocked at the moment," he looked…_awkward, _Sanji realized, and while part of him was reluctant to let himself fall so easily back into old feelings because, knowing Law, he wouldn't be around for long, a bigger one knew he would never say no to spending time with the other man.

He had two extra days, after all, so this was a setback he could afford.

"Yeah," Sanji went to pick up his pack, not saying anything else as he followed Law to the far side of the meadow, close to the tiny grove he'd noticed before. There was a cabin there, a rather cheery-looking structure considering its inhabitant. A small vegetable garden took up a patch of what could probably be called the front yard, although there was nothing else from the outside to give any clue as to who might live there. One step inside, however, showed that Law's penchant for being as comfortable as possible certainly hadn't changed.

It was deceptively roomy, with a well-equipped kitchen and a large sitting room scattered with bookcases and well-loved, plush furniture. A door off the back of the kitchen led to what was undoubtedly the bedroom, and from the looks of things Law only had one, but Sanji wasn't going to presume anything about sleeping arrangements until he got more of a sign from the surgeon.

He set down his large bag beside the coffee table and turned around to find Law just…_staring _at him like he was seeing a ghost or something. Sanji took a few steps closer, holding out his hand, and Law took it without hesitation, tugging him so they were pressed bodily against each other once more.

"I'm having a hard time processing how you're here right now," Law admitted. "I just never would have expected…"

"It's fucking crazy," Sanji let himself fold against Law's body again, nuzzling his neck. "I'm not here for you, though."

"Well, as…_honest _as that is, I hardly expected so. That does raise the question of why you _are, _though, because I'm the only person living here," he wrapped his arms tightly around Sanji and held on, and Sanji wondered just how long it had been since he'd hugged another living person.

"And that's something _I'd _like to know about," Sanji knew he was changing the subject and that _eventually _he'd have to tell Law what he was doing there, but since it was kind of a sore spot for his pride and an extreme source of guilt at the same time, he was trying to put that off as long as possible.

Law seemed to understand his reluctance, thankfully, because he let Sanji go and cleared his throat. "Right. Well, feel free to make yourself comfortable and I'll make us some tea. You still like Earl Grey?" he asked it in such an off-hand way that Sanji knew he was expecting an affirmative answer (and Law, as far as he knew, wasn't a big tea-drinker so that he had Earl Grey on hand when he seemingly lived in the middle of nowhere was suspicious all by itself, although Sanji wasn't going to look too deeply into it).

"Of course," he said instead, shrugging off his suit jacket and going to take a seat at the small table. Law moved around the kitchen a little awkwardly, looking over at Sanji every few seconds as if making sure he didn't disappear into thin air, and Sanji could tell he wasn't exactly _comfortable _cooking but he wasn't going to say anything to correct him.

Making tea was an art, of course, but not one he was sure Law had any vested interest in.

Besides, as long as it was hot and tasted at least somewhat like Earl Grey, he wasn't going to complain.

Law brought the mugs over, setting one in front of Sanji while clearing his throat. He then proceeded to just sort of…hover awkwardly, and he was making _Sanji _nervous with the way he was carrying on.

"Look, this is your house, right?" he asked, getting a jerky nod. "So why are you acting like you don't belong in it?"

Law sighed, wrapping his hands around his own mug but making no move to get any more comfortable. Sanji had seen this sort of behavior before, although it had been a long time, and he knew he'd have to make the first move because Law, he was sure by now, would never actually _admit _to needing comfort.

"Do you want to move to the couch?"

A quick burst of relief flitted across Law's face before he schooled it into utter neutrality once more, but he did move over to the sitting room, plopping on the push sofa and reaching his real arm along the back in an obvious invitation.

Sanji took it, of course, tucking his knees under him and leaning against Law's body. He could feel the surgeon relax under the touch, his arm settling more firmly around Sanji's shoulders.

"Look, I know it's been a fucking long time," Sanji sighed heavily. "But I still…feel the same, so if you do, then I don't see any reason to act like things need to be weird."

"I do," Law said quickly. "I told you that you were it for me, and that…that hasn't changed," he promised, and while part of Sanji still felt guilty because Law deserved so much _more _than he could ever give, it was also the comfort that he needed in that moment..

"Good," Sanji shuffled even closer, finally taking a sip of the tea and finding it acceptable. "So. What are you doing here? What happened on Zou?"

"Nearly five years of hard work, since finding everybody that was infected was quite the chore. There were enough records to list who had been in the mining town at the time they'd evacuated, but there were people that had left earlier, and those who had married people not from the mining town and whose children were still infected, plus the rest of the children born since then..." he sighed. "I can't even estimate how many people I had to operate on, but using my ability that much drained my stamina substantially and doing it over and over meant I never had time to fully recover it. It's also probably why I look at old as I do," he grunted, and Sanji glanced up at him, lifting a hand to run his fingers through the silver hairs dotting Law's sideburns.

"You don't look old," he promised, because aside from that Law didn't, really. "And they suit you."

"You don't have to lie," Law didn't look convinced, and eventually he sighed. "Regardless, I did what I'd set out to do, and the town offered to thank me so I asked for this," he gestured around him. "Spending that much time around so many people was overwhelming and I desperately needed some space to myself. This island is only a few hours away from Zou, so getting supplies isn't any trouble, but it's far enough removed that I'm not bothered by anybody."

"It doesn't get lonely?" Sanji knew Law liked his privacy, of course, but this seemed extreme even for him.

"I've only been here a couple of months, and so far it's been…nice," he decided. "I've been following the news about all of you, you realize. I know you've all done what you set out to do," he sounded….proud, almost, and Sanji was amazed at how much Law's approval meant to him, a pleasant warm feeling settling in his chest at the words. "And my old crew has stopped in every couple of months since they set off on their own, so I get news from them, too. They can't shut up about your restaurant, by the way," he added, and Sanji grinned.

"Yeah, I see them a lot. Last time Penguin made it sound like you'd rather I forgot about you, so that's what I tried to do, but…" he sighed, taking another sip of his tea.

"I have no excuses," Law grunted, running his fingers up and down Sanji's arm. "I could have written you, or even gone with them to visit, but I…"

"Seriously, if I haven't fucking convinced you by now how important you are to me I don't know what else I can do," Sanji bristled, because Law's shitty self-loathing at the expense of his own happiness had gotten old really fast.

"I told you I have no excuses," Law repeated. "I don't expect you to forgive me, either, but…"

"Stop," Sanji cut him off. "Look, I don't care, okay? I stopped trying to understand you a long time ago, but I don't have the energy to do this with you now."

Law froze, lifting his arm and trying to pull away, but Sanji didn't let him because of _course _Law would take that the complete wrong way.

"Look," he set the tea down, moving to straddle Law's lap and staring down at him. "I'm dealing with a lot of shit right now, and it's all my fault, so the last thing I want to do is let this turn into some sort of emotional crisis when it doesn't have to be. Yeah, you should have at least let me know you were _alive…_I'm not that surprised you _didn't_, because you're still so fucking _confusing_…but we're both here now. If you feel the same, and I feel the same, that's all the fucking matters," he was gritting his teeth by the end, his voice rising, and he tried to calm down and keep his emotions in check.

Law bit his lip, eyes narrowed as he looked up at him, and he eventually nodded. "You're right, of course, but…"

"I was a good thing, and you're scared because every good thing in your life has ended," Sanji didn't even need Law to explain, because he knew what this was about. "And you thought that if you pulled away altogether, and you had an excuse, it would be easier to justify doing it even though you didn't want to."

"Fuck," Law leaned forward, resting his forehead against Sanji's chest. "You _do _know me too well."

Sanji sighed, running his fingers through Law's hair and holding him there. "Yeah. So stop fighting what you actually feel."

"Okay," Law said, although Sanji hardly believed he was going to remember that promise. "But I'm being an awful host, since you seem to have something weighing heavily on you and I'm making this about myself. The purpose of your visit to this island, for instance…"

Sanji knew there was no getting out of this now, so he took a breath and prepared himself for the story. "I'm heading for the old Marine base."

"You realize it's on the other side of the island, yes?" Law sounded amused. "Has being with Zoro so long made you inherit his sense of direction?"

Sanji laughed, but it was hardly a nice sound, and Law seemed to pick up on that. "What's wrong?"

"It's…it's being used by bounty hunters now, and the only way to get in without being seen is to come from the land side. The only other good place to dock on the island is by your cabin, so I was kind of stuck," he rattled off quickly, and Law pulled away from him enough to look up properly at him.

"Why would you want to break into a bounty hunters' base?" Law asked slowly, but Sanji had a feeling he already knew.

"Because…" he swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Because they've got Zoro. And it's all my fault."

**Notes:**

**1\. **I know the last fic ended on kind of a down note, so I didn't want to leave you all hanging for _too _long! But yes, straight into the drama, because it makes things more interesting that way…

**2\. **Continuing with the theme of the past two fics in this series, the title is once again taken from an O.A.R. song.

**3\. **As always, feedback is immensely appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:**kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:**Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 2/?  
**Word Count:** 4536  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:**For recent chapters

**Chapter Two**

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Sanji scrubbed a towel through his hair, letting it collect all the moisture it could before he draped it around the back of his neck to let it hang there. Before he'd even gotten a chance to talk about what had happened to Zoro, Law had told him to take a shower and freshen up, and he was glad for that since at least his emotions were a little less fucked up now. "D'you want something to eat?"

"Only if you want to make something," Law's eyes had a bit of a sparkle in them that Sanji was fairly sure meant he _did _want some of Sanji's food again, but of course he'd never admit that outright. At Sanji's nod, he continued, "feel free to use whatever you want, but there's no bread."

"Of course not," Sanji wasn't surprised, since he doubted Law would have gotten over his strange vendetta against bread in the past few years. The other man's pantry and fridge were rather woefully understocked, but he had some fresh fish and an abundance of freshly-picked vegetables that Sanji could easily do _something _with. There were also enough spices and fresh garden herbs to make a good rub for the fish, at least, so he set to work.

The robe he was wearing was soft and plush and smelled like Law, the sleeves a little too long so he had to keep pushing them up to stop them from getting in the food, and it was surprising even to him how quickly he relaxed just by having something familiar to do.

He tried to work out in his mind the simplest way to explain to Law what was going on, because he had a feeling the other man would want to know the entire story and probably wouldn't let him get away with leaving out any details.

By the time he'd come up with what he felt was a decent explanation in his head (and, admittedly, one he could get through without letting any sort of emotions or guilt overwhelm him), the fish and the vegetables were done and he turned to serve them, taking the plates to the table and setting them down.

"So. I…"

"No," Law shook his head. "Eat. And calm down, I can see how tense you are from here," he said, quietly but firmly, and Sanji sighed and forced himself to relax. Law usually had that effect on him, or at least he'd used to, because when he was sure of himself he just exuded this _aura _that made other people feel it.

"Sorry. I've been beating myself up about this since it happened," he sighed and rubbed his temples, starting to eat.

For working with a limited pantry, he had to say he'd done pretty well, and if the speed Law was chowing down at was any indication the other man obviously agreed. Sanji was kind of pleased to note that Law hadn't stopped eating like a chipmunk in the last few years, because it was ridiculously endearing to see him with his cheeks puffed out and still trying to cram more food into his mouth.

"Is it okay?" he asked after a while. Law finally swallowed before looking up.

"Sanji, I'm quite convinced by now that anything you choose to cook will be exceptional," he said, completely earnest, and Sanji blushed and went back to picking at his own plate.

Fuck, Law still made him giddy, even after all this time.

He forced himself to eat everything on his plate, knowing he'd need the energy if he was planning on starting a days-long journey in the morning, even though ever since _it _had happened all food kind of tasted like ash and he got no enjoyment out of it at all.

Once they were done, he took the plates to the sink to rinse them off (ignoring Law's protests that since this was his house he should really be the one cleaning up) and decided to make some coffee.

Really, it was just killing time, but once the coffee was made and they were both settled on the sofa again he knew there was no way he could put it off for any longer.

"You don't have to tell me," Law, damn him, could still read him like a book, and Sanji knew that at one time he'd felt comfortable telling Law almost _anything _and, really, that hadn't changed.

"Fuck that," Sanji decided, throwing the last remaining vestiges of his pride away and practically crawling back into Law's lap, leaning his head against the older man's shoulder and letting his eyes close. "Can I…is this okay?"

"Yes," Law's voice sounded a little strained, but he clamped one arm tightly around Sanji's waist to hold him in place. "Yes, more than."

"Okay," Sanji told himself to stop being such a shitty coward, because that wasn't him at _all, _and he knew Law wouldn't judge him for this no matter how badly he was judging himself. "So. Basically I was a fucking idiot and let my guard down, and he ended up paying for it," he sighed. "We had…well, it's not that our relationship was _suffering, _exactly, but we didn't get a whole lot of time to ourselves with the restaurant. I basically worked from 5 in the morning sometimes until 1 or 2 the next morning, so I was usually too tired to do anything more than fall into bed and hope I fell asleep right away so I'd get at least a few hours," he sighed, because when he put it that way, their relationship _had _suffered even if it didn't mean they were any less _close _than they'd been before.

Their sex life had definitely suffered, though, in no small part because neither of them were as inventive as Law, but also because there'd always been this sort of…shadow hanging over them, that _something _was missing, and even if neither of them would acknowledge it they both knew what it was.

Sanji hated himself for that, really, because Zoro was more than enough for any one person and, for something he'd wanted for so long, to finally have him and not be content made him feel horrible. Yeah, Zoro might have felt the same, but the thought that they could have drifted farther and farther apart just because of a guy that may never show up again was kind of shitty in his mind.

"Anyway, one day I decided we needed a break, so I left the restaurant in the hands of one of my sous-chefs and took Zoro out to the nearest island for a picnic, with the plan being that that night we'd stay at the inn in the local village so we could, y'know," he shrugged and Law smirked at him, because of _course _he knew.

"Yeah, well, we didn't get that far…after lunch, Zoro took a nap in this meadow we were in and I went to find a stream to wash out the dishes in, and when I came back…" he sighed. "He felt safe falling asleep because he trusted me to be alert enough to sense any danger, and maybe five years ago I would have been, but I think my sense have grown rusty from sitting in that restaurant for so long."

He stopped then, breathing heavily, because this was the worst part of the tale to recount. Law's hands stroked down his back as if he were trying to soothe a spooked animal, gentle and steady. He didn't do anything to pressure Sanji, just waiting until he was ready to speak again.

"I think I'm so fucking rattled because these guys…whoever they were…they were waiting for us, which means they must have been watching us for a long time. They…" he stopped, scrambling out of Law's lap and over to his backpack, scrabbling through the pockets until he came up with a crumpled piece of paper and thrust it toward the other man.

He didn't sit back down right away, hovering nervously and shifting from foot-to-foot, as Law scanned over the note and then looked up.

"Yeah, so," Sanji shrugged one shoulder rather listlessly. "I came back and the…the only person in the clearing was a little girl. I…fuck, she couldn't've been more than five or six, and she looked fucking _terrified, _but she told me that the men had told her to give the note to a 'skinny blond man with a weird eyebrow' and after I took it she just ran off back toward the village," he sighed and sat down beside Law this time, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "So I don't have any idea who these guys are, or how many of them there were, but that they'd threaten a kid means they're the lowest kind of bastards that exist," he snorted, his fingers curling involuntarily into fists.

"How do you know it's real?" Law asked suddenly, and Sanji looked up in disbelief. "Well, if this is all you have, that's hardly definitive proof," he shrugged.

"I mean, yeah, Zoro could have woken up and wandered off, but even _he's _not that hopeless when it comes to directions," Sanji was a little annoyed that Law didn't believe him, because to him there was no doubt that the ransom note was legitimate. "And if it was anything else, he would have found a way to tell me by now, so that he hasn't means I have to believe it," he said firmly, eventually getting a nod from Law.

"Right. In that case, why not capture both of you?" he asked calmly, and Sanji debated not answering because this wasn't supposed to be a fucking interrogation. Of course, he knew that Law _always _wanted to have as much information as possible, so it shouldn't really surprise him.

"Probably because people would know if I suddenly went missing. Zoro's a wanderer, he doesn't really have a home base and he certainly doesn't have several employees underneath him that would notice an unexplained absence…I told them all I'd only be gone for a day, after all," he replied slowly. "So out of the two of us, Zoro disappearing wouldn't be odd at all since he comes and goes whenever he feels like it. And, if I were a bounty hunter, I'd go for the biggest price, too," he added, and while it would always rankle a bit that Zoro's bounty was _so _much more than his, he _did _spend his life fighting while Sanji spent most of his time in the kitchen these days.

"What the note asks for…that's far greater than his bounty," Law said, and Sanji smirked to himself because apparently Law had _really _been keeping tabs on them if he knew their new bounties.

"Yeah, it's nearly twice as much, but bounty hunters are greedy, and they obviously know our crew well enough to know that we'd do anything to save one of our own," he said firmly. "So they ask us for an outrageous price, and if we don't pay, they hand him over to the Marines and still get a good chunk of money for him."

"But you don't think they'll be expecting you might try a rescue mission instead?" Law's voice was still entirely neutral and Sanji elbowed him in the side, getting a rather affronted look in return. The older man sighed, tugging on his arm and laying back along the couch so that Sanji had little choice but to crawl up his body and sprawl on top of him. Not that he really _minded, _of course, no matter how irritating Law was being at the moment.

"Of course I do, which is why I'm waiting until the day the exchange was supposed to take place. I think they'd be fucking stupid to think I'd just roll up with the pirate king and expect them to keep their end of the bargain, but maybe if I wait it out they'll let their guards down a bit…and it also gives the guys who are supposed to help us escape a reason to be sailing close to the docks there," he added, and Law nodded thoughtfully.

"Wait, if none of your crew knows, who's helping you get away?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"The same guys that brought me here," Sanji replied. "Their captain's an old friend of mine…I've known him longer than I've know you," he grinned, and Law frowned at him. "Don't worry, he's trustworthy."

"I know your judgment is impeccable," Law murmured, obviously referring to his Haki allowing him to tell if somebody was being truthful, but Sanji would take it as a compliment regardless even though it was a skill he'd never consciously tried to develop. It had saved him enough times in the past, after all. "So, you're doing this knowing full-well you could be running into a suicide mission just to save him?"

"Of course I am. If there's even a chance…fuck, it's all I've got," he mumbled, because he knew damn well it was the only way to even _have_ a chance at rescuing Zoro. He doubted Zoro was even their main target, which was why he was keeping Luffy as far away from it as possible, and the only way to keep him away for sure was to make sure _none _of the crew knew about it (he knew Law would at least understand that without asking, of course, since he'd done the same thing back at Punk Hazard to keep his own crew safe). Brook had been a little surprised when he'd said he was taking a couple of weeks off, but he _thought _the skeleton had bought his story about him and Zoro going on vacation especially since, as far as he would know, Sanji had no reason to lie.

"Well, if nothing else, you've got the element of surprise," Law trailed his hands up and down Sanji's back, his tone soothing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sanji looked up, blinking.

"It means that they might know everything about you and how to counter any attempts you might make to break Zoro out, but I doubt they can do much against my powers," he smirked, and Sanji opened his mouth although no sound came out.

Yeah, a part of him had been hoping Law would come with, of course, but…

"You don't…"

"Do _not _finish that sentence," Law pressed a finger to his lips and gave him a stern look. "If you think I'm letting you head off into a trap on your own, you're sorely mistaken. I'm the best chance you've got of getting him out safely," he said, and Sanji knew he wasn't bragging; it was just the truth.

"I know. Thank you," he curled up, nosing against Law's neck and hugging him as tight as he could from his current position. "They won't fucking know what hit them."

"That's the general idea," Law murmured, nose pressed into his hair. "Besides, it's been a few years since I had some excitement. I've been missing it," he sounded eager and Sanji couldn't say he disagreed with him on that point, since working in a kitchen had gotten pretty damn boring considering what his life had been for so long.

Of course, he'd prefer to have the excitement _without _the man he loved being in danger, but he'd long since accepted that his life was just never going to be that easy.

000

"The bed's yours, if you want it," Law said sometime later, both of them falling silent after Sanji had finished his story.

"Yeah?" Sanji blearily looked up, yawning and trying to force his eyes open. The coffee had done little to keep him awake after all, although getting through his explanation was probably more the cause of his exhaustion at the moment. "Where're you gonna sleep?"

It was an obvious bait and he knew it, but the chances of Law being stubborn were still extremely high.

"I don't mind staying on the couch…" he stopped when Sanji leveled a glare at him and then sighed. "I didn't want to presume."

"It's not 'presuming,' idiot," Sanji stood up and stretched, yawning again. "From here on out, just assume that if it's anything that means we get to spend more time together, I'm not going to say no," he went to rinse out his empty coffee cup, drying out the sink and heading into the bedroom.

He fiddled with the tie on the robe before deciding that it wasn't like Law had never seen him naked, so there wasn't any reason for him to be awkward about it now. Hanging the robe up on the bathroom door, he pulled back the covers and crawled in, waiting with baited breath for Law to show up.

Shuffling footsteps reached his ears a few moments later, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to sit up against the headboard, watching Law closely as he padded around the bed and stood there playing with the hem of his shirt.

Eventually his shoulders slumped in resignation and he tugged it over his head, tossing it carelessly into the corner of the room before pushing off his jeans. He paused once he was undressed, glancing at Sanji as if for approval before he moved toward the bed.

Law's body was as perfect as ever, lean and muscular, all dark skin and darker ink and Sanji felt his fingers twitching with the urge to touch.

Law yanked the covers back and crawled in, sitting beside him with their arms barely brushing. Sanji could feel him trembling, like he wanted _so badly_ to do more, and he decided that for once he'd be nice and take the first step.

"Hey," he murmured, sliding his hand down to clasp Law's and holding it tightly. "It's okay."

"This is still a little…surreal for me, to be honest," Law turned to look at him, raising his metal arm and hesitating for a moment before he settled it around Sanji's shoulders, a cool, heavy weight across his back. "I can't believe it's been five years."

"It's fucking crazy," Sanji snorted, letting go of Law's hand so that he could burrow under his arm. He let his head rest on Law's shoulder, humming in contentment. He was starting to relax more fully, feeling like a weight had been lifted off him now that he'd finally been able to tell _somebody _the whole truth about what had happened. It might have been a blow to his pride, but with Law at least there was no reason to be ashamed of that. And that Law had immediately decided he was coming even though he had nothing but Sanji's word to go on…that meant more than the blond could ever express properly. "Fuck, I love you," he didn't even think twice about saying it now.

No matter how long it had been, it would always be true.

Law's breath caught in what sounded like a choked-off laugh, and he buried his nose into Sanji's hair. "You know I feel the same. No amount of time could change that," he promised, unconsciously echoing Sanji's thoughts. No, he hadn't said the words themselves, but with how long it had taken him to say them the first time around Sanji couldn't get too upset about that now. "Don't berate me for asking this, but may I…that is, I'd quite like to…" he stopped, huffing and sounding annoyed, and Sanji had an idea of what he wanted just based on how awkward he was being.

He pushed himself upright enough that he could cup Law's cheeks, leaning in and brushing their noses together. "Yeah?"

"Yes. If you'd permit it," Law's voice was so soft that Sanji could barely hear it, but when their lips met it seemed like all of his inhibitions flew away and he clutched tightly at Sanji, pulling their bodies together. Sanji was sure there were all sorts of clichéd descriptions about how it felt to kiss somebody for the first time in far too long, but the only thing he could think in that moment was how _right _it still felt.

Law, as much as he hated to admit it, and as much as it would probably come to bite him in the ass in the end, had crawled his way under Sanji's skin so deeply that there was no way he could ever let him go for good.

"I've missed you, too," Law barely whispered, returning Sanji's words from hours before, and Sanji held him close. "I've been the worst sort of stubborn idiot, and I realize that now."

"You know, I'm not even that mad because I kind of expected it from you," Sanji admitted, brushing his fingers through Law's hair and staring down at him. "Don't think I'm ever letting you go again if I can help it, though."

"I don't have any complaints about that," Law assured him. "Though, I don't think I'd be much help on a floating restaurant."

And Sanji sighed, because of course Law would ruin the moment by bringing reality into it. No, it wouldn't be the most ideal place for Law, but he was starting to realize that it wasn't exactly the most ideal place for _him, _either, and that was something he'd been struggling with for a while.

"Sorry, can you…" Law let go of him and Sanji nodded, because he knew that look. Law needed space, so Sanji clambered off of him, not entirely surprised when the other man turned his back on Sanji and curled up, arms wrapped around a pillow. Law had always responded that way, though; if he'd thought he'd said something wrong, instead of even _asking _if he had, he just decided to close off.

And yeah, it was just as aggravating as it had always been. Law didn't say anything more, hugging the pillow tight enough that his fingers left indents in the soft fabric, and Sanji decided that meant the conversation was over for the time being.

He made to lay down, but something on the bedside table caught his attention as he turned, glinting in the light coming through the bedroom door. It was small, barely noticeable in the half-dark room, and if it hadn't been made of metal he probably never would have noticed it in the first place. Now that he had, however, it felt like something was compelling him to take a closer look, and it didn't take long for him to recognize what it was once he looked a little more closely.

He realized, with something tightening in his chest, that it was his lighter - the lighter he'd given Law the day they'd parted. He reached out to grab it, flicking at it without expecting anything and being a little surprised when it sparked to life right away. Of course, it wasn't like Law smoked much so he wouldn't have used it up, but that he'd purposefully _not _used it and yet still kept it beside his bed five years later…

Fuck it, Sanji decided, setting it down and turning so he was looking at Law's back. He wasn't letting this happen now, not when they'd already spent far too much time apart.

"I suppose my penchant for saying the exact wrong thing and ruining the mood remains woefully intact," Law mumbled, his body tensing when Sanji's hands came to rest on his shoulders.

"No, you've got a point," Sanji shifted closer, pressing his lips to the back of Law's neck. "Truth be told, I'm…not sure I want to stay there long-term either."

"I thought it was your dream."

"Mm, my dream was the find the All Blue," Sanji said, trailing kisses down Law's spine and over the tattoo on his back. "I did that, and while having a well-regarded restaurant is validating, the thought of being twenty-six and stuck in the same place for the rest of my life is really fucking depressing. Every time Luffy stops in I kind of want to drop everything there and take off sailing with him again, and I know…I know that it's affecting my relationship with Zoro, as much as we both pretend that it's not. I mean, if it _really _wasn't, we wouldn't be in this mess," he kept peppering Law's skin with kisses, sliding down on the bed and feeling the other man relax slowly under the attention.

"That's…understandable," Law sighed. "You're a pirate, after all."

"I guess at heart, I really am," Sanji pushed himself back up, tugging on Law's arm until the other man rolled over. "So don't fucking feel bad about bringing it up."

"…Alright," Law didn't sound convinced, but he did curl closer.

"And I see you still have my lighter," Sanji tried to lighten the mood a little, his voice teasing as he tugged at a fluffy tuft of Law's hair.

"Yes, sentimental as it may be, I like having it close," he laughed, sounding a little ashamed. "But then, I've always tried to find ways to hang onto the past, haven't I…" his voice was thoughtful, but Sanji knew what he meant, since everything from his crew's name to his jolly roger to his entire _body _was a tribute of sorts to Corazon.

"I still wear your hoodie all the time," Sanji shrugged. "It's in my bag right now," he added, and Law glanced up at him.

"Zoro was right all along. We're really a couple of sentimental fools, aren't we?"

"Yeah, well, as long as I'm not the only one," Sanji craned his neck down so he could kiss Law again. "We should…I mean, I want to get an early start tomorrow, so…"

"Yes. Sleep is probably a good idea," Law yawned as if to emphasize his own words. "Hmm, I apologize if I'm not the best bedmate anymore…it's been a long time since I shared with anybody," he pressed even closer, all his inhibitions gone with his exhaustion.

Sanji frowned at that, though, because he hadn't expected Law to just…become abstinent without him and Zoro, but that was what he made it sound like. "Law, you…"

"Truth be told, Sanji, I'm not that obsessed with sex. I know it probably seemed otherwise with the both of you but that was most assuredly an exception. Otherwise I'm content to go years without it," he said it so matter-of-factly that Sanji knew he was telling the truth, even though it still made him feel a _little _guilty.

"Still…"

"Don't," Law shook his head, cupping his cheek and pressing an insistent kiss to his lips. "And besides, even if I _had _taken other partners in the meantime, they'd all pale in comparison," he smiled thinly and Sanji felt his stomach do that weird flip-flopping thing again. "Now, sleep."

Sanji nodded and settled down, wrapping himself tightly around Law and smiling when the embrace was returned just as fiercely by the other man.

"We'll get him back, Sanji," Law promised before they fell asleep, and Sanji knew that, with Law along, the chances of that had just gone up about a million times.

And he was so, so grateful for it.

**Notes:**

**1\. **Uhhhh I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter because I wrote it in a different way than I usually do (normally I write completely in order with very little revision and this time nothing felt right to me the first time through so I changed a lot and I'm not sure it reads well now…).

**2\. **Thank you to all of you who have already left comments on the sequel!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 3/?  
**Word Count:** 3506  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Three**

When Sanji woke up, he was disoriented for a few moments, most especially because he was lying on what was probably the most comfortable bed he'd slept on in years (yeah, he had a bed at the Baratie, of course, but personal luxuries came second to providing the best possible service and food to customers, and if that meant sacrificing comfort for better ingredients or more high-end amenities, so be it), and also because there was a pair of golden eyes staring intently at him.

"Hey," he reached out without thinking, still half-asleep, pressing his lips to Law's in a sloppy kiss. "Did you sleep?"

"A bit," Law shrugged. "This is probably going to sound exceptionally creepy, but part of me still believes that if I take my eyes off of you, you'll disappear," he smiled wanly, his hands sliding over Sanji's bare skin and down to trail over his flat stomach.

"I'm here," Sanji promised, nudging his nose against Law's. "And if you let me up, I'll make us breakfast before we leave," he added, because as much as he wanted to lie in bed with Law all day, they had something much more important to be doing.

Plus, well, they were both kind of naked, and even though Sanji wouldn't do anything sexually with Law yet (because Zoro was going through God-knew-what at the moment and it would make him feel extremely guilty to be enjoying himself knowing that), it was kind of hard to stay completely unaffected and the sooner he got some clothing on, the better.

Law, however, didn't seem inclined to let him go _anywhere _at the moment, and Sanji decided he could spare at least a few minutes so he shifted closer, tucking his head under Law's chin and closing his eyes. "Should it…" Law paused, sounding hesitant. "It feels like…"

"Like we were never apart? Yeah," Sanji had noticed it, too, even if Law had been his normal emotionally shuttered self the day before, there wasn't any awkwardness between them like maybe there should have been. But, even in the beginning, back when this was supposed to be nothing more than getting mutual release without any feelings involved, they'd connected remarkably quickly so Sanji thought that maybe this wasn't so strange after all.

Law didn't say anything to that, his hands still moving gently over any skin he could reach.

"Hmm, okay, we can do this after Zoro's saved," Sanji knew that if it went on much longer he was going to lose all of his self-control, so it was better to _not _risk that.

He'd waited five years to be with Law again.

He could make it another week.

"Of course," Law let go of him immediately that time. "I'll grab my things," he decided, getting out of the bed and crossing to a dresser before he pulled out a rather large bag. Sanji could hear something skittering around in the drawer and shivered, because there was only one thing that could be.

"Do you still have Doflamingo's…" he paused, staring at the dresser, and Law nodded.

"Yes. I'd debated just throwing them in the ocean, but honestly, the only way I can be sure that he never gets them back is if I know where they are," he looked back and smirked. "Don't worry, I won't bring them with. They'll be safe enough here," he slammed the drawer shut, hard enough for the picture set on top of the dresser to shake back and forth (and, Sanji noted with a smile, it was the one of his family, and it made the blond happy to see Law putting it in a proper place of honor), giving it a cursory glare before starting to throw clothing into the bag.

Sanji decided to freshen up a little first, grabbing a pair of jeans and slipping them on before he headed into the washroom and ran some water to splash on his face. He glanced at himself in the mirror while waiting for the water to warm up, wondering if he'd changed that noticeably in the past five years.

He didn't think so…at least, it wasn't as if he'd _aged_ that much, but he was still only twenty-six so that wasn't that surprising. His hair was a little longer, maybe, and he shifted his bangs around, debating parting them the other way for a change before deciding against it for the time being. It hardly mattered which eyebrow was visible, after all, so long as one was covered at all times.

Law slid into the room, stopping to wrap his arms around Sanji's waist and hug him from behind. Sanji glanced at their reflection, deciding that he'd allow himself a small moment of vanity because, truth be told, they _did_ look damn good together.

"What's on your mind?" Law asked softly, pressing his lips to the side of Sanji's neck. "You look thoughtful."

"Nothing, just…thinking about how long it's been. If I look different to you," he added, and Law shrugged.

"Are you saying that I do?" Law asked, but he was smiling. "No, you look exactly the same."

"Yeah, well, you're a lot older than me," Sanji teased, tilting his head to give Law better access to his neck, but he realized in that moment that 'exactly the same' wasn't the most ringing compliment Law could give him. In fact, Law had rarely said anything about Sanji's physical appearance beyond 'attractive'; hell, even _Zoro _had called him 'beautiful', so that kind of stopped him short.

He knew how Law felt about him, of course, but still…

"The same, huh?" he cleared his throat, reaching to grip Law's wrists and hold his arms in place around Sanji's waist. "That's all?"

Law sighed and nodded, resting his forehead against Sanji's shoulder so the younger man couldn't see his eyes. "I'm not good with words of praise, Sanji, you know that," he mumbled.

"Yeah," Sanji sighed, somehow guessing that was all he would get. "Anyway, we need to get moving."

"You're gorgeous," Law said suddenly, his body going stiff as if the words surprised even him. "I've always thought so…it's why I approached you in the first place," he admitted. "But like you told me after my arm…" he lifted his head, brow furrowed, "how you look doesn't change how much I love you. I know I should probably say it more often, though."

And well, apparently five years _had _opened Law up a little, even if it still took some coaxing to get him to admit what he really thought.

"Thank you," he said honestly, turning so he was facing Law. "I mean, I'm always gonna be pretty fucking proud of the fact that I'm one of the only people who can turn you on, but it's nice to hear," he kissed Law, running his fingers down the other man's sideburns and over the double earrings in both of his ears.

"You're making it very hard to resist you, you know," Law mumbled against his lips, his tone light. Sanji reluctantly pulled back, kissing the tip of Law's nose and grinning at the bewildered look on his face.

"Go, take your shower. I'll start breakfast," he promised, stepping away from Law before he could lose control of himself entirely. Law inclined his head and headed toward the shower, Sanji finishing up with the sink and then heading back into the bedroom.

He debated on what shirt to wear for a moment, deciding in the end that just because Law was here with him didn't mean that he needed to change his normal routine.

And besides, Law's hoodie was about the most comfortable thing he owned anyway.

He pulled it over his head, frowning when he realized that it _was _getting a little thin after he'd worn it so many times, but it was warm and comfortable enough for that not to matter. He'd seen some eggs in Law's fridge the night before, and searching through it again yielded some kind of smoked ham that he could probably work with. He grabbed a block of cheese, some oranges in the pantry, and hopped out to the garden to grab a few herbs before he started preparing everything.

He hummed to himself, getting lost in the rhythm of cooking – lining a muffin tray with the ham slices, cracking an egg into each, then topping with shredded cheese, a touch of cream, and a few fronds of dill - and glanced out the window as he slid the tray into the oven to bake. It was beautiful outside, sunny and, from his brief dash to the garden, warm, and while he couldn't read the weather the way Nami could, the sky certainly _looked _clear and cloudless for the moment.

He started squeezing the oranges for fresh juice, hearing Law come into the room but not really paying attention to him until he spoke.

"I can get you a new shirt, you know," he sounded vaguely amused and Sanji glanced over his shoulder, reaching to wipe his juice-stained hands on a nearby dishcloth. "I've got enough of them, after all."

"Nah, it's fine," Sanji promised, letting his eyes rove over the other man. He looked a little tired, although since he'd said he hadn't slept much that wasn't surprising, and he was wearing a pair of dark-framed glasses that, with the silver streaking through his hair, made him look rather distinguished. "You know you look like your father?" he asked, turning back to the counter to finish up.

"You're the one who said my father was attractive," Law reminded him, and Sanji was kind of surprised he remembered that, especially since at the time he hardly seemed keen on that idea.

"Yeah, because he was," Sanji decided the eggs needed a few more minutes and walked over to where Law was, reaching to wrap his arms around the other man's neck. Law's hands came to frame his hips and Sanji wondered for a moment how they were even going to be able to travel together considering the fact that they seemingly couldn't keep their hands off of each other. "I didn't say it was a bad thing," he promised, leaning up to kiss him. "Look, stop worrying so much about how you look, because you're still hot as fuck, okay?"

Law didn't really answer, shrugging and sliding out of his grasp, but Sanji hadn't expected more than that. He went back to the stove, taking the eggs out and letting them cool for a few minutes while he set out some plates and utensils. He grabbed the orange juice, taking the glasses over, and realized with a jolt that the night before, and this morning…this was the first time he'd cooked just by and for himself in…fuck, _years. _

At the restaurant, he might have planned the menus, but he rarely did any of the cooking because he was too busy overseeing everything and making sure the entire restaurant was running smoothly. He didn't get any time in the kitchen to himself, and he usually had to create dishes based on what sold well instead of experimenting and trying out new ideas.

He hadn't noticed until now how much he'd missed just being able to cook whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, in a domain that was completely his to control.

"Sanji?"

"Shit," Sanji realized he'd kind of zoned out in the middle of carrying the food to the table, and he shook his head and went to set the glasses down before bringing the rest of the food over, sprinkling a bit more of the dill over the tray. "Sorry, I was just…this is…I don't actually get to do much cooking anymore," he scooped out a couple of the ham and egg bundles and set them on a plate before sliding it over to Law.

"Well, if last night was any indication, your talent certainly hasn't diminished," he noted, staring at the plate. "And this looks excellent."

"Nah, it's just a riff on ham and eggs," Sanji replied with a shrug. "And they'd be better if they had some sort of toasted bread to sit on, but I guess that's too much to ask for," he muttered under his breath, glaring when Law kicked him under the table.

He sighed, then, feeling a creeping guilt start to settle over him, and Law hooked his ankle around Sanji's and just held his leg, sensing that he needed the comfort.

"Sometimes dreams aren't all they're made out to be," Law said quietly, reaching his hand out, and Sanji clasped it with his own without hesitation. "Not that mine was anywhere close to as noble as yours is, but I know all too well how…unfulfilling they can sometimes become," he glanced at his prosthetic arm, raising an eyebrow when he looked back to Sanji. "Maybe sometimes what we _think _are our dreams are only stepping stones toward other goals," he looked so serious that Sanji felt himself believing him, even though the churning in his stomach didn't really diminish.

He loved cooking, and if he could spend his whole life doing just that, without any of the expectations of running a business or sacrificing his creativity for the sake money, he knew he'd be perfectly content.

But now, he had a restaurant, and he had employees, and he could hardly leave them all hanging just because he decided he didn't want to be in charge anymore, so for the moment he couldn't see a solution.

"So what's your dream now?" he asked instead, and Law shrugged his real shoulder listlessly.

"I'm not certain. I know that it would be a waste of my ability, my training, and what my parents were trying to achieve to _not _keep trying to heal people who can't be healed any other way, but I also know that traveling too much will make the government aware that I am, in fact, still alive, and I've grown rather fond of nobody coming after my head," he admitted with a small chuckle, finally letting go of Sanji's hand so he could start eating.

"We're too young to be having life crises," Sanji dug into his own plate of food, deciding after a few bites that no, he certainly hadn't lost his touch.

"Hmm, I'm sure we'll manage somehow," Law replied through a mouthful of food, and Sanji wondered just when _he'd_ become the optimistic one because Sanji himself wasn't sure of that at all.

000

They headed out as soon as the breakfast dishes were cleaned up (and after Sanji had used up most of the remaining food supplies in Law's house to make sure they had enough for both of them), Sanji knowing that if they made good time they'd probably reach their destination a day ahead of schedule but, well, they had to plan for any possibility that might slow them down.

Law, of course, seemed put-out because it meant one more night sleeping on the cold ground instead of in a bed, but he couldn't say much to disagree so, a scowl on his face, he trudged beside Sanji as they left the meadow where his cabin was behind and headed into the nearest grove of trees.

The going was easy, the land flat and the day just warm enough to make spending hours outside pleasant, and from what Law told him, the island didn't seem to have any natural predators so aside from some songbirds and an overabundance of dragonflies there weren't any other signs of life – and, more importantly, nothing that would try to eat them.

They didn't talk much, concentrating on covering as much ground as possible, but Law's presence by itself was comforting and Sanji thought it was much nicer to have a traveling companion than if he were stuck making the journey alone as he'd originally intended.

They stopped for lunch in another small stand of trees, eating under the shaded canopy of leaves, and Sanji felt another twinge of guilt because everything was so similar to the day Zoro had been captured, even down to the weather and the landscape.

He told himself to stop fixating on it because there was nothing he could do about it now, and they finished up their meal before continuing on their way.

000

"I'll take the watch tonight," Law said once they'd settled down for the evening in a small cave. The going had gotten a little rougher as they'd entered into a rock-littered valley, but there were enough furrows and worn-out crevices that finding a place to sleep was easy, and having only a small entrance to look out from would mean getting ambushed by anything was unlikely.

"I thought you didn't sleep well last night," Sanji frowned, but he could already tell by the determined set of Law's shoulders and the thin line his mouth was drawn into that he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. "We could share…"

"Sleep," Law said firmly, setting a hand on his shoulder and damn near pushing him to a sitting position.

Sanji rolled his eyes and sighed, objecting to being treated like a child. He changed out of his suit and into Law's hoodie and a pair of sweatpants, curling up in a bedroll and trying to get comfortable on the rocky ground.

He glanced to where Law was sitting, back against the wall with Kikoku up over his shoulder and arms crossed, and decided that just because they couldn't _sleep _together didn't mean he couldn't be close.

Law gave him a warning glare as he shuffled closer, spreading out his bedroll again and lying so that his head was pillowed on Law's thigh.

"D'you mind?"

"No," Law's fingers were already stroking through his hair, Sanji hearing a 'click' a moment later and nearly moaning in contentment when the other man's hand started vibrating. He'd almost forgotten about that particular feature, but he was quickly remembering how good it felt, both when it came to being a massage aid and when it was used for…well…other things.

"That still works, huh?" he managed to say, his voice a little breathy, and Law hummed, his fingers still moving along Sanji's scalp.

"Your shipwright certainly knows how to build durable prosthetics," Law replied, and Sanji curled toward him and sighed, letting his body relax fully.

It wasn't hard to fall asleep after that.

000

He woke up with a gasp, pain lancing through his body in a white-hot rush that left him shaking and sobbing and unable to breathe. It felt like his insides were being melted, like there was a fire burning in his stomach that would force its way out and consume him utterly, and he couldn't stop himself from damn near screaming as the pain grew to almost unbearable levels.

It vanished just as quickly as it had come, leaving him unable to feel even the slightest trace of it, but he was left trembling, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat and tears leaking from his eyes even as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"_Fuck," _he rasped, aware that he was still laying on Law, and a glance up showed that the other man looked about as scared as Sanji had ever seen him, eyes wide and face pale. "_Law…"_

"C'mere," Law yanked him up into his lap, tugging him close and running his hands up and down Sanji's back while he whispered into his ear.

Sanji was still too far gone to register what he was saying, but the tone of his voice was soothing and it was easy to relax under the comforting murmurs and touches.

"Fuck," he choked out again, hugging Law far too tightly to be comfortable although, to his credit, the surgeon didn't complain.

"Shh," Law breathed into his ear, nuzzling his neck.

"No, you don't…" Sanji tried to keep the panicked edge out of his voice, swallowing a few times. "That was…they…they promised they wouldn't hurt him!"

"Who?" Law's eyes were half-narrowed, as if he'd already started to figure it out, and Sanji shivered again and pressed as close as he could.

"Zoro," he said, his voice breaking. "He's…if what I'm feeling is just a sort of…echo, then…" he couldn't say anything else, tightening his arms even more around Law's shoulders, and he felt the other man hold him just as fiercely in return.

Sanji knew he had more explaining to do, and he would, as soon as he got his body under control.

If it was that bad for him, he didn't even want to imagine how much pain Zoro had to have been in to have so much of it transfer to him even as far away as they still were. And that it had cut out so quickly either meant Zoro had passed out or…or…

No. He wouldn't consider any other possibility.

The fact remained that, right now, whatever had happened, he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

And that was worse than anything else.

**Notes:**

**1\. ***runs away before objects start flying*


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 4/?  
**Word Count:** 3902  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Four**

It took him much longer than he would have liked to get himself under control enough to actually explain to Law what had gone on, partly because he was completely on edge with not knowing if he'd get another stab of pain like that again.

Still, he couldn't feel anything from Zoro anymore, and while part of him was relieved because that meant that Zoro likely wasn't feeling it either, _why _it had stopped was far more concerning.

Zoro was alive, he told himself firmly. He'd be able to tell if he was dead.

He blinked, coming back to himself and realizing that he was still curled up in Law's lap, still trembling a little, and he knew he didn't want to move anytime soon.

Fuck, he thought muzzily, if he had been there by himself when that had happened…

Well, he would have gotten through it, but having Law helped immensely.

"Better?" Law asked softly, still tracing his hands up and down Sanji's back, and the blond nodded. "Good," Law pressed a kiss into his hair and sighed. "I'm going to assume this is a Haki thing."

"Yeah," Sanji cleared his throat and uncurled a little, shifting to get more comfortable. "I've always been able to sense strong emotions if I'm right in front of somebody, but maybe because of how close Zoro and I are it's gotten to the point where I don't even have to be near him if what he's feeling is especially strong. I've never felt anything like…like _that _before, though," he frowned, shivering again.

"You and he…your bond must be incredibly strong," Law murmured, and when Sanji looked up at him he looked…sad.

"Hey" Sanji pushed himself up, pressing his lips to Law's in what he hoped was a comforting kiss. "Stop being down on yourself. You're so fucking important to me, okay?" he cupped Law's face with his hands, staring directly into his eyes until Law nodded. "Back on Dressrosa…even though we were miles away, even through that…that birdcage thing that was up, I _knew _something horrible was happening to you," he said, because he had.

No, it hadn't been as sharp as the pain he'd just felt, but the feeling of dread had been unmistakeable.

"I do know," Law promised, and the tightness around his eyes eased just a little. "Regardless, it worries me as well, because Zoro's tolerance for physical pain is exceptionally high, so for this to affect him so strongly that it rebounded onto you…"

"It wasn't…" Sanji frowned, "It wasn't _physical, _exactly…it felt like my body was burning from the inside," he didn't want to re-live the feeling, but he knew that if anybody would have knowledge about what it _might _be, it would be a doctor. "My throat, my stomach…it was like my skin was crawling with it, like fire shooting through my veins…" he shook his head, because that sounded needlessly dramatic, but Law's expression grew more grave and Sanji immediately felt worried.

"Fuck. Those _bastards," _he hissed, teeth bared and golden eyes flashing, and he looked damn near feral.

"Do you…I mean…" Sanji wasn't sure he wanted the answer, but he knew he had to know.

"Manchineel. It has to be," Law frowned. "It's an extremely poisonous tree," he explained at Sanji's blank look. "Almost every part of it can cause excruciating pain upon contact, and burns are the most common symptom. If you're feeling it inside…that means they've injected him with it somehow, which means it's already entered his bloodstream and that…_fuck," _he groaned, and Sanji felt his breath quicken because Law was genuinely freaking out. "They're playing with fire. Obviously they have to know that Zoro has a remarkably strong constitution, but to even take the chance that his body would be able to withstand just a small amount of the poison is incredibly reckless. Unless…" his frown deepened, brow furrowing, and he shook his head.

"Unless what?" Sanji asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer, but the last thing he _did _want is Law withholding information because he thought the blond couldn't handle it or something. "Tell me."

"Unless they have the antidote on hand and they're using the poison to keep him subdued," he said slowly. "Administering it in small doses until it takes effect, but only enough that he's in almost constant pain without it being fatal."

"_Shit," _Sanji could _feel _the blood draining from his face and he clapped a hand over his mouth, willing himself to keep his supper down. It worked, thankfully, although he could taste bile in his mouth regardless.

"I'll kill them," Law said, and Sanji had no doubt that he meant it. "I'll fucking kill them. There is _nothing _I hate more than people who play with human life as if it's some sort of…experiment they have a right to exploit for their own wishes. It's repulsive," his tone was ice-cold and Sanji remembered hearing from the others how shaken he'd been back at Punk Hazard after learning what Caesar had done to those children.

"You'll have to beat me to it," Sanji vowed, feeling a surge of anger like he hadn't felt in a long, long time. He fisted a hand in Law's hair and crushed their mouths together almost violently, needing _some _sort of outlet for the entirely different burning in his stomach now.

Law matched his intensity, opening his mouth and clenching his fingers in the back of Sanji's shirt.

It was wrong, though, and Sanji knew it, so he forced himself to pull back, feeling a creeping shame come over him. He wasn't going to ruin their first time in five years by turning it into some sort of coping method.

Law deserved far better than that.

"Sorry," he mumbled, trying to pull away, but Law's metal arm clamped around his waist and held him in place. "I'm sorry, I…"

"Take your clothes off and lie down," Law said firmly, and Sanji shivered because _that _was a tone of voice Law hadn't used since they'd reunited. It made him hesitate, though, because while Law liked to be in control and Sanji never had an issue with him taking it when they were…intimate, that wasn't the case here and Sanji immediately bristled at being told what to do.

"Why?" he asked slowly, and Law sighed and rubbed one eye with the heel of his real hand. "

"Now I'm the one that needs to apologize," he muttered before glancing back up. "Do you trust me?"

"You know the answer to that," Sanji was still a little confused, but he stripped Law's hoodie off and stood up to get his pants off, bending to spread the bedroll out a little so that he wasn't just lying on the rock floor.

"On your stomach," Law said gently. Sanji shivered a little in the cool air of the cave before complying.

He crossed his arms in front of him, propping his chin up, and flinched when Law's hand landed on his shoulder.

"You need to relax," Law murmured, and Sanji finally had an idea where this was going and decided he was okay with it. "I know you're on-edge from what happened, but if we rush in there exhausted we're going to make mistakes, and right now you're in no position to fall asleep," he said as he started up his arm again, and Sanji hummed as the vibrations slid over his shoulders and upper back.

"Yeah," he agreed, half-closing his eyes. He knew Law was right, and as hard as it would be to detach from obsessing about what Zoro was going through, that wasn't going to help him.

Right now, he couldn't help him, but he had to keep himself in top form for the day when he_ could_, or else all of this would be for nothing.

He let himself drift, feeling the vibrations trail down his back, over his ass and thighs before Law moved his hand back up again.

It was intimate, certainly, but there was nothing sexual about it now and Sanji appreciated that more than he could say.

"Thanks," he mumbled eventually, feeling Law's lips press to the back of his neck. "I'm okay."

"Good," Law turned the arm off and moved away, settling back against the wall. Sanji lay there for a few moments longer before the cold air began to bother him again and he quickly got re-dressed, not even waiting for a sign before clambering back into Law's lap and curling up against his chest. They were silent for a while after that, both of them lost in their own thoughts, until Law cleared his throat. "I've been meaning to ask…why don't you smoke anymore?"

"Huh?" Sanji glanced up before realizing that, yeah, before Law had probably rarely seen him without a cigarette in his mouth, but that had been a habit he'd quit years ago.

Or mostly quit, anyway.

"Oh, uh, I stopped right after opening the restaurant. I'd been having coughing fits for a while and Chopper decided that it wouldn't hurt to quit smoking, so I tried it for a while and probably drove Zoro crazy with how moody I got," he grinned at the memory, because more than once he was convinced Zoro would just throw him into the ocean to shut him up. "But it helped, and I didn't get much of a chance to smoke when I was running around for fifteen hours a day trying to manage the restaurant, so over time I just sort of…smoked less and less until now I maybe have one cigarette every couple of days. I still have a bunch in my bag in case I get a sudden craving, but it's happening less and less now," he admitted with a shrug,

"I know I should be happy about that, since it's going to prolong your life, but you smoking…"

"Corazon, right?" Sanji asked, and Law nodded.

Well, it had been a while, so he shrugged and got up to get a cigarette, still easily lighting the stick and inhaling.

It didn't calm him down as much as it used to, which he supposed was a good sign since it meant he wasn't fully dependent on them as some sort of stress reliever. He walked back over and sat down, passing it to Law and watching him take a drag. "Here," he took it back, leaning in to seal his mouth over Law's and letting the smoke curl between them.

"You should quit smoking entirely, you realize. Even one cigarette per day increases the risk of…"

Sanji cut him off with another kiss, not wanting to hear any of his doctor-y doom-and-gloom at the moment.

Besides, he'd long decided that if he lived long enough that the side-effects of chain-smoking were what did him in, he'd be content with that.

They kept sharing the cigarette until it was burned to the filter, Sanji tossing the butt to the stone floor a safe distance away. "Now. Think you can sleep a little?" Law asked and Sanji nodded, since he felt sufficiently calmed down. "Good."

"You should sleep, too," Sanji said, even though he knew Law would refuse. Still what was the use of him showing up rested while Law was completely exhausted? "Look, there's nothing on this shitty island but bugs and birds, right? So we're gonna be fine."

"See, I'd be willing to do that if we could depend on your Haki, but since I can tie you up in your sleep and you don't notice I'm not sure I can take that chance," Law replied, but he was smiling, the bastard, so Sanji knew he wasn't trying to insult him.

"What about your sword?" Sanji asked, glancing over at the nodachi. "Doesn't it have, like, a demon or something in it?"

"You're saying we should depend on a cursed sword to wake us up if there's danger?" Law raised an eyebrow, looking fairly unimpressed, but Sanji met his eyes and after a few breaths he sighed in obvious resignation.

"I suspect you won't take 'no' for an answer," he muttered, "but at least let's shift a little further into the cave so that we can't be seen from the opening."

Sanji grinned to himself, happy that he'd gotten Law to agree to it, and helped him move their things further into the shallow cave before setting up his bedroll near to the back wall. He crawled in and Law followed a moment later after a last look outside the cave mouth.

It was tight trying to cram into a sleeping bag meant for one, but they were both pretty slender so somehow they managed. It wasn't as if being too close was any sort of issue, after all.

"I'm going to kill you if we get attacked in our sleep," Law muttered into his hair and Sanji snorted, knowing by now the surgeon was all talk.

"Yeah, whatever," Sanji pressed his lips to Law's throat and closed his eyes, feeling no threat anywhere near, and let himself drift off into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

000

"We should stick to the meadows today."

"Why?" Sanji hopped along after Law, trying to tie his tie properly and shrugging into his suit jacket even as they set off.

"We need to find arrowroot," Law explained, looking up at the sheer walls of the valley. "Hopefully we can get out of this soon and back up to higher ground."

"Is that a plant?" Sanji stepped up beside him, and Law nodded.

"Yes, it's the only known antidote for manchineel, so it's best to have some on-hand," he noted, pacing along at a speed that Sanji almost had to half-jog to keep up with him.

Damn, his legs were long.

"Can't you just…cut it out of him? 'Sanji asked, since it seemed like poison wasn't anything Law couldn't deal with. He yelped a little as he tripped over a tiny rock outcropping he hadn't seen in his hurry to stay beside Law, but the other man's reflexes were good and he caught Sanji's arm before he could face-plant into the ground. "Sorry."

"No, I should slow down a little," Law smiled at him, not letting go right away, and Sanji straightened up, heaving a sigh. "And while I probably could, it's always a good idea to have an _actual _cure on-hand, just in case," he added.

Sanji could see the wisdom in that, he supposed, so he shifted his backpack and started to walk again, glad that this time Law kept pace with _him _instead of the other way around.

The walk out of the valley was easy from then on out, and they headed back up the slope sometime around early afternoon, Sanji feeling the salt-scented breeze wash across his face as they crested the top of the nearest rolling hill.

The sea stretched out before them, whitecaps sparkling in the sunlight. The sound of the waves crashing against the rock spires surrounding the island was loud in the quiet air, filling the stillness around them.

"I think I can see why you chose this place," Sanji noted, letting his eyes take in the sight. No matter how old he got, and no matter how odd it might seem since for eighty-some days it was the only view he'd had, the sight of the ocean always filled him with a strange sense of peace.

He belonged on it, and he knew that now more than ever, even if he was quickly coming to realize just _sitting_ on the ocean in a floating restaurant wasn't quite cutting it for him anymore.

"Mm," Law's arm snaked around his waist, firm and possessive. "It's not a bad place to settle, certainly. I could be happy here," he didn't sound completely sure, and Sanji glanced up at him. "I suppose it won't do me any good to try and pretend I won't be leaving with you when you go, will it?"

Sanji grinned, feeling indescribably giddy.

Yeah, he'd hoped, but to hear that Law for once actually _planned _to stay with him was incredibly fulfilling.

"Well, you know, if I had a place to go, I'd probably be more willing to take time off for a vacation once in a while," he said, obviously teasing, and Law pressed his nose into the blond's wind-ruffled hair. "You know I want you around."

"I'm still not used to the notion of people enjoying my company, I suppose," Law sighed heavily, his arm tightening a little.

Sanji didn't know what to say to that, since no matter how hard he tried he could never seem to break through Law's beliefs about how seemingly unpleasant his personality was.

He leaned his head on Law's shoulder, hoping to convey by touch alone how much he'd meant his last statement, and Law held him there for a few more minutes.

"Well. Let's keep going," he cleared his throat and stepped away, heading along the edge of the cliffs, and Sanji took one more look at the view in front of him before following.

000

"Here."

"Is that the plant?" Sanji reached out, skimming his fingers over the foliage of the one Law had stopped beside. It was tall, nearly as tall as Sanji himself, with large, flat leaves and small white flowers.

"Yes. And luckily there's quite a few of them, and they all look mature," Law pulled up a Room and Sanji hastily got out of the way (he trusted Law, but sometimes he got a little wild when he was cutting things in mid-air). Law lifted the plant into the air and Sanji saw that underneath was a root that looked rather like a long, misshapen potato. "I'll need to make a poultice from these eventually if my suspicions turn out to be correct, but for now we'll just collect what we can and I'll keep them whole in my pack."

"Can you eat them?" Sanji asked, because this was something he wasn't that familiar with and, if its healing properties were as great as Law seemed to think they were, there might be nutritional benefits as well.

"Yes, from what I've heard. Apparently they're very good for keeping skin healthy, and I know some people on Zou used a powder made from the root in teas and as a flour substitute," he explained, which only made Sanji more eager to try them out at some point.

He was already planning recipes in his head, wondering just how much like a potato these arrowroot tubers were, and when he came back to himself he saw Law staring at him with a rather amused smile on his face.

"What?"

"I was just thinking," Law held the root out and Sanji took it, running his hand over the bumpy texture of the outer casing. "You're just as excited about cooking with these as I am about trying out their supposed miraculous healing qualities. Such a little, unassuming thing, but it's, despite the apparent disparity in our professions, just as useful to us both," he sighed, sounding annoyed with himself for that speech, but Sanji kind of knew what he was getting at.

"Yeah, well, a big part of cooking is keeping the body healthy, right?" he noted, tossing the tuber in the air and catching it again. "We're both doing the same thing for people in the end."

"True enough," Law murmured, turning around and getting back to pulling the plants up and collecting the roots. Sanji plopped himself on the ground to watch him, resting his chin in his hands and wondering if part of Law's speech had been his way of trying to find something more in common with Sanji.

He didn't need it, of course, (sometimes Sanji thought that the way their brains worked was almost _too _alike already) but Sanji could tell he was still feeling a little disappointed over realizing just how close Sanji had become to Zoro in the last five years and that, maybe, he could have had that sort of bond as well if he'd stayed with them.

It wasn't any of their faults, since what Law had done for so many people was far more important in the end, but still…

"Hey," he crooked a finger to motion Law over once he'd collected all of the arrowroot in the area, and Law ambled over, settling down into a crouch so they were level. Sanji reached to place his hands on Law's cheeks, staring into his eyes, and wondered if part of it had to do with Law's own Observation Haki being so undeveloped.

Zoro's wasn't that strong, all things considered, but he could still sense strong emotions if the person experiencing them was nearby, or if they were felt by a large group of people at the same time. Sanji knew that Law relied more on his ability to take note of his surroundings as opposed to consciously working on that part of his Haki, so maybe that in itself made things harder because Zoro was already more suited to forming that sort of connection with another person.

Luffy had told him that everybody had at least the _ability_ to use both Armament and Observation Haki, so it should be possible to work on it with Law if that was what he truly wanted.

For somebody that had spent so much of his life trying to stop himself from feeling much of anything, though, it might be a challenge.

He tried to concentrate all of his feelings about the other man into one sharp burst of emotion, keeping his eyes locked with Law's and _willing _him to feel it, and Law's eyes narrowed after a few seconds.

"What was…" he blinked. "Did you…do something?"

"Yeah. Kinda," he admitted, leaning in to kiss the other man softly. "We'll talk about later," he decided, because he needed to think a little about the best way to explain everything, but Law being able to at least sense _something _about what he'd done was a good start.

"Okay," Law looked a little unsure, but he returned the kiss and flicked his tongue against Sanji's lips before standing up and collecting the pile or arrowroot tubers. "Shall we?"

"Yeah," Sanji nodded, getting to his feet and feeling a small twinge in his stomach that made him flinch. "Damn it," he muttered, praying that it didn't get worse, but it soon settled into a dull ache that faded after a few shaky breaths.

"Zoro?" Law asked, concerned, and Sanji nodded.

"Yeah. It wasn't nearly as bad as last night, thankfully, but at least this means he's alive," he decided he'd focus on the positive and not how much pain Zoro was no doubt in.

The night before it had seemed like more of a shock than anything, which was probably why it traveled so strongly along the link between them, but if the other man was suppressing his pain somehow because he'd gotten used to it by now…

Well, it wasn't pleasant to think about, but it was better than any alternative they had at the moment.

"He's okay," he decided, though the look of relief on Law's face at those words wasn't one Sanji could share at the moment.

Zoro was okay for _now, _but they still had five days to go.

And a lot could happen in five days.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I wanted to keep the notes short at the end of the last chapter, but for anybody wondering the breakfast dish Sanji made is called 'Scotty's Nest Eggs' and they're delicious (I think the main recipe has basil as the suggested herb, but I like dill better and any kind of strong-tasting herb will work!)

**2\. **Manchineel is a real tree (and a real nasty one at that) and one of the only known antidotes for it is arrowroot, so that information is as accurate as I could make it!

**3\. **The Haki-connection thing is something I've been toying with for a while because I really like the idea of Observation Haki being tied in part to emotions and I'd imagine if two people who both had awakened it formed a strong bond, their emotions would be even more open to each other than normal. Zoro can use Observation Haki (on Punk Hazard he and Sanji could both sense the fear from Tashigi and the other Marines when Vergo first showed up) but Sanji's definitely more proficient in canon at using it. Law so far hasn't shown any proficiency with it, however, and I'd guess that his tendency to suppress emotion would probably make it harder for him to unlock at least the whole empathy part of it.

**4\. **Sorry those notes were so long, but I wanted to explain some plot-relevant things! Thanks as always for the kind comments, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 5/?  
**Word Count:** 3606  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Five**

**Two Years Earlier**

"Stop worrying so much, Cook. I can hear your brain working from over here."

"Huh?" Sanji looked up from where he was sitting at the table, one hand mussing up his hair and the other shuffling papers. He had a lit cigarette stuck in the corner of his mouth, unable to help himself when he was stressed (he _was _trying to quit, though; really he was), and while he was sure he must _look _frazzled, he'd literally said nothing to Zoro about what he was doing.

"You're stressing about something, right?" Zoro frowned, his brow furrowing as if he didn't quite know _why _he knew that. "What's wrong?"

Sanji sighed, wondering if he should say. He hadn't planned on telling Zoro about it, since the other man seemed rather disinterested in the daily operations of the restaurant itself, but he knew once Zoro caught wind of something he wouldn't let go until he'd gotten his answer.

"The most notorious restaurant reviewer in the entire world is coming here tomorrow," he said slowly, blowing out some smoke. He really shouldn't be smoking, he told himself for the hundredth time, but he couldn't help it. "I'm trying to plan out a menu that will impress him, since a bad review from him means we'll never be successful," he shuffled a few more pieces of paper around before shoving the entire stack aside and slumping over the table. "I'm fucked."

"You're not 'fucked', Cook," Zoro snorted and Sanji looked up with a glare. "Look, you're the best damn chef in the world, right? So whatever you make him is gonna be spectacular, and I know you cook best when you go with your gut instead of _planning," _he said the word like a sneer, and Sanji rolled his eyes.

Yeah, Zoro never planned anything out beforehand if he could help it.

"So…"

"So," Zoro shoved the entire pile of papers off the table, ignoring Sanji's squawk of protest. "So just make sure he's only eating _your _food and he'll be begging to eat here every night," he grinned, setting his hands on Sanji's shoulders and staring at him intently, and Sanji reached to grip Zoro's wrists and nodded.

"Okay. You're right. Thanks for the pep talk, Marimo," he half-smiled, not feeling entirely reassured, but he knew that if Zoro believed in him he'd be able to figure it out.

000

The day the review came he again didn't have to say anything, excitement pouring from him so strong he was sure anybody within about a hundred miles that could sense emotions could feel it, and Zoro took one look at the paper in his hand and smirked.

"Told you," he said with a nonchalant shrug, which caused Sanji to tackle him to the bed in half-delight and half-exasperation at his attitude.

That night was the one time Sanji didn't care about getting up early for his job, or about how little sleep he'd no doubt get, or about how loud they were being, because dammit, he deserved to celebrate.

So he did.

000

**Present Day**

That had been the beginning, he realized. While he and Zoro had never exactly _discussed _the fact that they could sense each other's emotions, it was always there. He always knew when Zoro was getting restless hanging around the restaurant without fighting for too long and, while the other man would inevitably protest, Sanji would send him out the door with a bag of food and a warning to 'get it out of your system before coming back here,' and a few days later he would return, smelling of bloodlust and satisfaction.

Yeah. Those nights were good ones, too.

Likewise, Zoro could tell when he'd had a hard day at the restaurant, and he always seemed to have a warm bath drawn and a bottle of massage oil on the night-table before Sanji had even entered the bedroom.

Maybe that was how their relationship had worked for so long, because they each knew how the other really felt, and with no misunderstandings possible between them it made it a hell of a lot easier to work things out without any hard feelings.

They still beat the shit out of each other on a regular basis, after all, and they insulted each other more than they said nice things, but it was all a front.

At least, the insults were. The fighting was a combination of training and because it was just plain fun, and Sanji at least didn't get much of a chance to polish up his battle skills anymore outside of his sparring fests with Zoro.

"Sanji?"

"Huh?" Sanji realized he'd been spacing out for quite a while and he looked up, blinking. The landscape in front of them was changing after the past few days, turning from meadows and groves to prairie scrubland dotted with large rock formations.

It wasn't a desert, but there would definitely be less water and less places to take shelter, and Sanji wasn't relishing the thought of crossing in the hot sunlight.

"It should only take us a day to get to the fortress from here," Law turned to him, and Sanji did the math in his head and realized that would put them there a full day before they needed to be, and in a place where staying out of sight was damn near impossible.

"So we stay here until the night before and cross in the dark?" he guessed, getting a nod from Law.

"That seems like the safest option. Let's find a good place to set up camp," Law turned to head back into the forest they'd just passed through, seemingly on a mission, and Sanji hurried along after him until he realized where the other man was going.

The foliage grew lusher as they headed down toward the ocean, the land turning from the sheer cliffs they'd walked along on their second day of travel to gentle sloping hills. They still hadn't seen any animals bigger than a few soaring eagles high over the island, but the birdsong grew almost deafening as they went deeper into what was quickly becoming a rainforest.

Sanji could hear running water and guessed that was where Law was leading them to, since they'd need to stock up for their journey across the plains, but the place they came out in front of made his breath catch.

There was a tall waterfall cascading into what looked like a crystal-clear lake spread out in front of them, the water feeding into a tiny trickle that flowed past their feet and away into the trees.

The lake itself, aside from where the waterfall plunged into it, was calm, the surface reflecting like glass. Sanji had dropped his pack and was stripping his sticky clothes off before he'd even realized it, needing a good bath more than ever after a few days without (he didn't even like to go _one _day, after all).

He dove gracefully into the water, pleased that it was pleasantly cool but not cold enough to be uncomfortable, and came up with a gasp, shaking out his hair and grinning at the feeling of being _clean _again.

"Well, you seem happy," Law had seated himself on the edge of the rocks bordering the lake, smiling at him, and Sanji flicked some water in his direction before swimming over.

"Get in here."

"It's too deep," Law said with a shrug.

"Law," Sanji frowned and crossed his arms, although his own feet barely touched the bottom of the lake in the shallows so he knew Law was right. "I'm not sleeping with you if you don't take a bath," he decided, knowing that Law hated being dirty as much as he did.

"You drive a hard bargain," Law let out a loud, put-upon sigh, but he did take off his clothes and slide rather awkwardly into the water. Sanji caught him, holding him upright, and Law relaxed after a few moments once he seemed convinced Sanji wasn't going to just let him sink. "I hate this," he mumbled, basically slumped against Sanji's body. "I feel so fucking weak."

"Yeah, well, it's not like you can help it," Sanji held him close. "I'm gonna take you under, okay?"

He could feel Law's body tense, but it was either that or standing under the waterfall and Sanji doubted Law would want that.

"Okay," Law said quietly.

"Good. Hold your breath," Sanji warned before pulling them both under the surface. It was deathly quiet under the surface, though the water was so clear Sanji could see straight to the other side of the lake. He only stayed there a few seconds, hauling Law back up with him, but it was enough to at least wet the other man's hair.

The look Law gave him as they broke the surface was decided unimpressed. His normally fluffy hair, slicked down, caused him to resemble a disgruntled cat more than anything else, golden eyes half-narrowed in irritation.

"_That _was not fun," he said, as if Sanji had somehow thought otherwise. The blond rolled his eyes and guided Law over to the bank, helping him climb out onto the flat rocks.

Law sprawled out onto his back, still not completely re-energized even out of the water, and Sanji took a last furtive look around before lying beside him. The rock was smooth and sun-warmed and he knew they'd dry off quickly there.

He wrapped an arm around Law's body again, moving closer. Law's own arm came around his back to pull him in, so Sanji threw a leg over his waist and pillowed his head on Law's shoulder, sighing happily.

"Thank you," Law eventually murmured. "I _was _feeling rather gross."

"Yeah, I could tell," Sanji huffed a laugh, nosing against Law's neck and pressing a kiss to the still-damp skin there. He knew he couldn't stay out in the sun for _too _long (his damn pale skin would probably already be burning, after all, and he kind of envied Law for not having that problem), but it just felt…really nice for the moment. After four days of traveling almost non-stop, something his body wasn't used to any longer after so many years in one place, he was starting to feel the stiffness settling into his muscles.

It was a good ache, perhaps, but it still felt even better to just…not move for a while.

"You know, I'm rather proud of both of us," Law said, seemingly out of nowhere, and Sanji hummed in acknowledgment that he was listening. "The amount of times we've been naked with each other and yet not done anything about it is probably fairly commendable," he sounded like he was smirking, but Sanji couldn't disagree.

"Mm, I promise we'll fuck all night once we get Zoro back," Sanji mumbled, and Law groaned softly.

"You're putting a lot of images into my head right now...you know I've had five years to come up with new ideas…" his voice was utterly sultry. Sanji gulped and tried to stop his body from reacting, but wrapped around Law the way he was it was hard.

"Fuck" he mumbled, hearing Law laugh breathily, and he kneed him in the side for teasing like that. "I hate you."

"_Speaking _of fucking," Law trailed his real hand lazily up and down Sanji's back, light touches that had Sanji feeling nearly boneless, utterly relaxed. "Did you and Zoro ever…"

"Hmm?" Sanji blinked, forcing himself to focus on the conversation. "Oh. No. I mean, I think he'd let me, but for some reason we never got around to it," he frowned, because that was one thing that was still on his sexual bucket list, as it were.

Law made a thoughtful noise, his hand never stilling in its movements. "We'll work on him," he promised, and Sanji had a funny feeling that it wouldn't take much convincing if Law were a part of it. "Speaking of promises…" he slid his hand over Sanji's shoulder, up his neck, and traced over his lips with two fingers. Sanji knew what he was implying, since he _had _kind of said he wanted Law to give him some…advice on giving a blowjob, and they'd never gotten around to that the last time.

He did feel kind of like a coward about it, though, since Zoro had taken to it so easily (but then, the man stuck sword hilts in his mouth all the time, so it wasn't _that _different), and Sanji had still never tried.

Yeah, now that he really thought about it, his and Zoro's sex life had been kind of…bland, even though to them any moments they could steal to themselves had been appreciated regardless of what they actually _did_.

Sanji opened his mouth without needing any prompting, licking at the other man's fingers and then closing his lips around them. He sucked gently, hollowing his cheeks, and he could see how lust-blown Law's eyes were getting just with that simple action.

Law let his fingers slip from Sanji's mouth, his own lips quirked in a half-smile. "I don't think you need any coaching," he said, his voice rough, and he leaned in to kiss Sanji, slow and utterly consuming.

"Fuck, Law, stop," Sanji forced himself to say the words even though he wanted to get lost in the other man's touch, in the heat of his kisses and the feel of his body, but he still couldn't do it without feeling intense guilt…especially not now, knowing part of what was happening to Zoro.

"Sorry," Law did pull back, splaying out on the rock again and heaving a sigh. "Perhaps we should change the topic of conversation?"

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Sanji tamped down his arousal with some difficulty.

"I didn't tell you that I was almost married, did I?" Law asked, completely out of nowhere, and Sanji sat up abruptly in his surprise.

"You _what?"_

"It's not what you're thinking," Law promised, and Sanji believed him immediately because Law certainly wasn't the type to get _married. _"C'mere," he raised his arm and Sanji lay back down, pushing himself up enough that they were face-to-face. "Yes, apparently some of the…customs on Zou are still rather old-fashioned, but Mayor Zouge offered his daughter's hand to me as a thank-you for healing everybody."

"I didn't know he had a daughter," Sanji frowned, although truthfully he'd only met the man once.

"She would only have been a teenager at the time…well, I suppose she still is, but she's of age, at least," he muttered and Sanji started laughing outright at that. "What?"

"So he wanted to marry his daughter to somebody almost old enough to be her father?" he covered his eyes with his hand and tried to get his mirth under control, but he could just _imagine _the look on Law's face when he heard what the Mayor had planned.

Law being flustered was one of the most adorable things he'd ever seen, after all.

"I'm not _that _old!" Law yelped. "She's eighteen now!"

"Still," Sanji managed to stop laughing and settled for grinning rather goofily at the other man, cupping his face and sliding his thumbs over Law's defined cheekbones. "So what? You told her that you'd rather have a house? Because I should kick you for that one."

"_No," _Law was outright pouting now and Sanji let their foreheads rest together, sighing. "I told her that I would in no way be a suitable husband and that she should find somebody she wanted to marry instead of being passed off to me as some sort of thank-you present. I think her father realized that was exactly what he was doing after I said that," he replied. "Mayor Zouge isn't a bad man, of course, but he's blunt and I think in his head he'd decided that somehow both of us would be accepting of the arrangement."

"Was she?" Sanji narrowed his eyes, trying to stop the completely unfounded jealousy that was bubbling in his stomach, and Law shook his head.

"To be honest, the only contact I had with her was when I was curing her. She didn't seem _opposed _to the idea, but since my interest in women is negligible it really would have been an unsatisfactory arrangement," he sounded like he was waving the conversation off entirely, and Sanji hummed thoughtfully.

"Seriously, there are very few people who would be opposed to the idea of marrying somebody that looks like you," Sanji replied, half-under his breath, but Law's answering scoff told Sanji that he'd heard him. "I mean, most people aren't as stubborn as I am so they'd probably give up on your personality long before they'd get around to _actually _marrying you, but…"

He yelped, arms flailing in the air, because Law had _fucking shoved him off of the rock _and he hit the water with a splash, coming up sputtering.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" he grumbled, because he couldn't even return the favor without putting Law's life in danger and he'd never do that.

He _guessed _it was good that instead of being self-deprecating and agreeing with Sanji Law had fought back instead, but his hair had almost dried completely and now it was sopping wet and hanging over his eyes again.

He nudged Law in the side with his foot as he climbed back onto the rock and he didn't hesitate to shake his head like a dog and spray water all over the other man even as he curled back up beside him.

"I know it might seem otherwise, but for as hard as it must have been for you not to kill me out of sheer frustration, I'm…I'm happy you didn't give up on me," he said, and he sounded honest about it.

"I'm happy I didn't, too. But you definitely didn't make it easy," he poked Law's shoulder before pressing a kiss to the skin there. "You know I'm a fucking bleeding heart who can't say no to people who need help, and even if you would never admit it out loud…you needed somebody to show you it was okay to trust other people again, and that you weren't some sort of…pariah who doomed everybody that got close to you to a horrible death. I just decided somewhere along the way that it was my job, and I wasn't fucking giving up on you until you got that through your thick skull," he jabbed Law in the forehead now and the other man growled at him.

"Considering how utterly stubborn _I _can be, I think I needed somebody just as mulish to get through to me," he admitted, pulling Sanji on top of him and holding him there. Sanji pushed himself up a little, staring into Law's eyes and deciding to try reaching out with his Haki again since Law was being particularly open at the moment.

He watched the shift on the other man's face, the slight confusion flitting across his expression before his mouth opened a little in a soundless gasp, and Sanji could feel something almost like a tiny spark of electricity flashing between them.

It only lasted a second, but this time he _knew _Law had felt it, and that meant that he was probably closer than either of them realized to unlocking that part of his Haki.

"Is that…what it's always like between you?" Law asked softly, looking a little awed.

"No," Sanji laughed. "It would be exhausting mentally to have to concentrate that hard all the time, but that's what it's like when either of us is feeling something really intense," he decided that was the easiest way to explain it.

"It's certainly…different," Law decided, but Sanji couldn't tell from that whether he liked it or not.

"Hey, it's not like I can read minds or anything," Sanji assured him, resting his elbows on Law's chest and slotting his legs in between the other man's. "So whatever secrets you're still keeping from me are safe."

His tone was teasing, but for some reason the words caused Law's face to go dark and Sanji wondered what exactly he'd said wrong. He knew Law would probably never tell him _everything _about himself and his past, and he was mostly okay with that by now.

"There is…one thing that I feel I should tell you," Law started, setting his hands on Sanji's hips and holding him in place. "I think you've convinced me by now that you probably won't view me any differently for it, but it's one of the reasons I avoided seeking you out and you do have a right to know about that."

"Only if you want," Sanji didn't think he really had a 'right' to know anything, especially if it didn't directly concern him, but Law offering up information was still a rarity so he didn't want to protest _too _much.

"I do. But perhaps we should get dressed and get out of the sun first," he suggested, running his fingers up Sanji's back and over his shoulder (and Sanji could see his skin was already starting to turn pink, which meant getting dressed was a good idea).

"Yeah," he nudged his nose against Law's and dropped a kiss to his lips before standing and going to retrieve his clothing.

Law really had come a long way, he thought as he pulled his pants on, but it was times like these that Sanji was reminded he still had a long way to go.

The good thing was that, now, finally, they had all the time they needed to work on that.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I managed to write a pretty fluffy, lazy chapter, but I thought a bit of a break was needed since next chapter the rescue mission starts up in full and things will probably be pretty busy for them for a while!

**2\. **Thanks as always for the comments and reviews! I hope you enjoyed this chapter even if they just spent 90% of it lying on a rock.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 6/?  
**Word Count:** 4645  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Six**

His opinion on them having a lot of time to work on things changed rather rapidly once Law actually began to speak, and by the time he was finished Sanji could see why he'd been concerned about it.

Of course, he'd also been right about it not affecting how Sanji felt, but it was just one more thing that added stock to Law's assurance that something would always get in the way of him being happy, and that was kind of depressing.

"So," Sanji was sitting cross-legged facing him, lips pursed. "You're saying that even though your ability depends on your own stamina, there are ways to use your power even if you're completely exhausted, and that's by drawing from your own life force?" he asked slowly, getting a one-shouldered shrug and a half-nod in return. "And, after you lost your arm, that's what you did back on Dressrosa."

"Yes," Law nodded. "Obviously my body was far too damaged to have any energy stores remaining, but giving up at that point was tantamount to death. The only way I could ensure I had a chance, even a small one, was to create a Room that would, even at full energy, deplete my stamina rather rapidly, and I had to hold it for…" he sighed, closing his eyes. "A long time, I'll say that much."

"So the entire time, you were draining your life?" Sanji tried to keep the anxiety out of his voice, even though it was hard. He could only imagine what the other man had gone through, how much pain he had to have been in from getting shot and having his arm literally cut off and then having to draw from his very life force on top of that…

His fingers twitched with the urge to reach out, but he could tell from Law's body language that he wouldn't be especially receptive to any physical affection at the moment so he restrained himself, folding his hands in his lap.

"I had no other choice," Law smiled grimly. "It was either take a chance with shortening my lifespan or die right then and there, in which case my lifespan would be rather shortened regardless."

Sanji couldn't really argue that, so he just nodded. "But you don't know…I mean…"

"No, I have no idea _how _much I took off," Law shook his head. "It might only be minutes, but it could be significantly more. I hadn't thought to mention it before since after Dressrosa I was far more concerned with finding a working substitute for my arm, but in the last five years with using my ability so much…" he sighed. "Maybe it's taken more out of me than I first realized."

"Fuck," Sanji echoed the other man's sigh, leaning forward and rubbing his temples. "Well, I guess there's no way to tell until it happens, huh?"

"Mm, so if I suddenly drop dead, you'll know why."

"Don't fucking joke about that," Sanji growled, and one look up showed him that Law was already regretting making light of it. "You were right, though. When you said it didn't matter," he swallowed, his mouth feeling suddenly dry.

Because it _didn't _matter…and yet, at the same time, it _did. _

"I don't care how long you've got left, it doesn't fucking matter to me," he said, meeting Law's eyes. "Whether it's a day, or a year, or fifty years…" he stopped, because he was going to say something ridiculously sappy and Law probably wouldn't want to hear that at all.

"I know," Law smiled warmly and Sanji breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't have to say anything else. Part of him was thankful that Law had _finally _seemed to realize that Sanji would rather spend time with him than not, but the blond had to admit that it certainly wasn't the _best _news he could have been told.

And knowing they'd wasted five years already didn't help, either.

"As I said, the time it shaved off of my life may be negligible, but I thought it only fair to warn you," his tone indicated that for him the conversation was over, and Sanji knew he wouldn't be getting anything else out of Law as far as personal secrets were concerned…at least, not anytime soon.

"Right. Well," Sanji felt his fingers twitching with the need for a cigarette and sighed in resignation as he stood up to grab them, lighting up and inhaling gratefully. More than anything it was just a way to avoid talking for a bit, and it at least gave him something to do with his hands.

He knew they should probably eat soon (and at least that was one thing they didn't have to worry about…Franky had built him a cooler that could keep food cold for days so packing only dried foods that traveled well wasn't really a concern and he was grateful for it since Law was kind of picky when it came to food anyway), but he wasn't feeling very hungry at the moment.

Maybe he'd go for a walk. Or another swim. He was pretty sure there was a cave behind the waterfall and that would be a safe place to hide out for a couple of days, so he should go check that out…

"I was going to pretend."

"Huh?" he turned around, a little surprised that Law apparently still hadn't finished baring his soul for the day. "About what?"

"I'd half-convinced myself that, in the event I ever saw you again, I'd pretend that I no longer felt the same. I thought I'd be able to shut you out entirely," he had this sad little half-smile playing about his lips, and Sanji felt his feet moving him toward the other man even though he didn't mean to.

"Yeah? What happened?" Sanji nudged Law's knee with his foot, pursing his lips around the still-smoking cigarette and staring down at him.

"What do you think?" Law glanced up at him. "Your first reaction was to jump on me, after all, and that was about all it took for me to realize my feelings truly hadn't changed and it would only hurt us both to pretend they had."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't sure you wouldn't drop me on my ass for doing that, but I'm glad you didn't," Sanji chuckled, blowing out some smoke rings. Law fell silent after that and Sanji figured that _now _the conversation was over. He dropped the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his heel, clearing his throat. "Hey, are you hungry? I could…"

He yelped when Law grabbed his wrist and yanked him down into his lap, kissing him almost desperately. Sanji wrapped his arms around Law's shoulders and kissed back, knowing that despite Law's seemingly assured comments about Sanji not caring about his confession, he'd been worried.

"Look," Sanji pulled back enough so they could stare at each other, and there was still a tightness to Law's eyes and around his mouth that showed he wasn't completely certain that things wouldn't change. "I don't want to ask you for any promises because I know that's a lost cause, but…I want you around. That's it," he shrugged, knowing that even though part of him was fucking terrified about just how short Law's life could become if he kept overusing his ability, a much bigger part of him had learned over the last five years that any time spent together wouldn't be something he'd regret.

Giving up on Law just because his future was uncertain, however, and always being left to wonder what could have been…yeah, that would haunt him forever.

"I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, you know," Law leaned toward him, mumbling the words mostly into his shirt. Sanji tangled his fingers in Law's hair and curled his body forward, chin resting on top of Law's head.

"Yeah. Neither do I," Sanji knew that making even that sort of promise was dangerous considering their profession (and the fact that they might be walking into a literal deathtrap in just a couple of days), but something compelled him to do it anyway.

One thing was certain, he'd try his damn hardest to stick around as long as he could.

"You said something about food?" Law asked, face still mashed against Sanji's shirt, and the blond rolled his eyes and pulled back.

"You know, for as much as you seemingly hate being compared to Luffy, sometimes you really remind me of him," he anticipated the look of horror on Law's face at those words and wasn't disappointed, and by the time he'd gotten to his bag and taken out their dinner his heart felt at least a little lighter.

They were both survivors, after all.

It would take a lot to bring them down.

000

As it turned out, there _was, _in fact, a cave behind the waterfall, and while Law had complained profusely about being stuck somewhere he couldn't escape from (at least, until Sanji had pointed out that there were tons of rocks and debris on the shore he could just warp with if he needed to), eventually he'd conceded.

They spent most of the night and the next day resting and preparing themselves for what was to come, because no matter how confident Sanji might have felt with Law along, both of them were seriously out of practice when it came to actually fighting. Sanji hadn't felt much from Zoro since that first night, but he was still sure he'd be able to tell if the other man was dead, so that was some small comfort.

He hoped he'd be able to sense him stronger the closer they got to the stronghold, since them getting in and out quickly depended on him being able to tell where Zoro was and avoid anybody else (he and Law had both decided that, for now, getting Zoro out safely was more important than exacting revenge on any of the men that had captured him. There was plenty of time for that later, once Zoro's life wasn't in danger anymore).

He'd assumed he wouldn't get much sleep the night before, that he'd be too anxious, but something about the steady, soothing sound of the falling water and Law's warmth wrapped tightly around him had caused him to drop off rather quickly, and he was grateful for that.

And so, a night's trek across the scrubland left them within sight of the rather imposing fortress, as well-rested as they could be while they waited for dawn to break.

Sanji reached out with his Haki, scanning the fortress and noting that there seemed to be a good number of people in the same location…probably sleeping quarters, he guessed, considering the hour. He was a little more hesitant to search for Zoro directly, unsure of what he'd find, but the other man's aura was unmistakeable and he let out a heavy sigh as he let the familiarity wash over him.

It was weaker than normal, but hardly anywhere near what Sanji would consider dangerous, and he tried to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, though if he had to guess he'd assume the dungeons were further down the cliff, maybe even embedded in the rock-face to prevent easy escape.

Their best bet would be entering through an empty room on the main floor and working their way down, relying on Sanji's Haki to tell if anybody was coming to intercept them.

"This friend of yours that's coming to aid our escape…you trust him?" Law asked after Sanji had told him what he'd been thinking, and the blond glanced sideways at him.

"Yeah. Don't worry, he'll be there," he said, because _that _was the one thing in this mess he was completely sure of.

"Good," Law nodded. "Well, best not to delay this any longer. Are you prepared?"

"As much as I can be," Sanji swallowed, feeling Law's hand come to rest in the small of his back and taking strength from it. "Let's do this."

000

Getting in was the easy part.

The land-facing part of the fortress was completely unguarded and it had been easy for Sanji to Sky Walk up to the closest set of windows, catching the edge of one and peering in to see some sort of office.

It was unoccupied, thankfully, and Law only needed to swap himself with a pencil on the desk to get both of them inside without triggering any sort of alarm.

Sanji kept his Haki as focused as he could, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long without it exhausting him, but he'd take a little fatigue over them going in completely blind.

Luckily, Sanji thought as they headed toward the place where he could sense Zoro was, they were dealing with bounty hunters and not Marines. Marines would have had sentries on duty, and while there were plenty of alcoves and rooms to duck into if they needed to, it was much easier to move quickly when it became apparent there weren't any guards they needed to avoid.

In fact, the only person they encountered at all was at the door leading to the dungeons, but he didn't even have a chance to call for backup before a roundhouse kick from Sanji laid him unconscious.

He felt his heart beating faster as they raced through the dark corridors of the dungeons, though from what he could see the cells were all empty. Zoro's aura was damn near stifling now, and Sanji skidded to a half in front of the very last cell in the dungeon, nestled deep within the rock of the cliff itself.

"Stand back," Law's voice was tight as he called up a room and sliced through the bars of the cell as easily as if they were butter, letting the pieces clatter to the ground. He slid through, Sanji following with feet that suddenly felt like lead, and the blond tried to keep his composure as he took in Zoro's appearance.

The other man was unconscious, breathing shallow and rapid, propped up against the wall with his wrists chained above his head to keep him upright and his ankles shackled to the floor. He was limp in his bonds, his clothing in tatters and every inch of visible skin streaked with blood and dirt.

"Fuck," Sanji whispered, feeling tears prick his eyes. He'd prepared himself for anything, and that Zoro was still alive and in one piece was better than a lot of the alternatives his mind had concocted over the past week.

Law brushed past him, going into full doctor mode immediately. He cut the shackles open, leaning to brace Zoro with his body when the swordsman slumped forward, and let his real hand rest against Zoro's forehead.

"He's definitely been poisoned," Law replied, his voice impassive, though his expression told Sanji he wasn't nearly as unaffected as he was pretending to be. "I can't tell if it's Manchineel or not, but it's the most likely answer," he sighed, shifting Zoro so that he was sitting more comfortably against Law's shoulder. "We need to get out of here so I can examine him more closely."

"Right," Sanji nodded, trying to force himself to not worry about Zoro until they were in a place it was safe for him to do so.

"His swords…did he have them when he was captured?" Law asked, and Sanji nearly smacked himself in the forehead because he couldn't believe he'd forgotten about that.

Zoro would kill him if he let that white sword fall into the wrong hands, after all.

"Here," Law passed over his nodachi and Sanji took it cautiously, feeling the vibrations from beneath the saya. "I'm not sure if you can read the…aura of his swords, but if not, Kikoku should react to the presence of another cursed sword. I'll meet you at the dungeon entrance and then we can look for a way out," his tone was gentle but firm, and Sanji appreciated that Law was giving him something to do to take his mind off of Zoro for a few minutes. "Be careful."

"You, too," he reached to run his fingers through Zoro's hair, sighing when Law caught his wrist and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "I'll be quick."

He shifted Law's sword, realizing that carrying it would be awkward since it was taller than he was, but he noticed as he headed back toward the entrance to the dungeons that the vibrations from inside kept growing stronger.

"Okay, which way?" he ran out into the corridor, past the still-unconscious guard, and it might have been his imagination but thought he could feel the sword _pulling _him a certain direction, so he followed along and was relieved when the shaking got even more severe. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going," he muttered, wondering if it was normal to be talking to a cursed sword like it was some kind of excited dog.

There was a demon inside of it, he reminded himself, even though so far it hadn't posed any threat to _him. _

Kikoku damn near jumped out of his hand as he passed by what looked like a weapons storage room, and he ran inside to find Zoro's swords and haramaki laid out on a rickety wooden table.

"Thank fuck," he gasped, sliding the waistband on and attaching the swords (he'd seen Zoro do it enough times that he hardly had to think about it). The weight threw him off-balance a little, but he found his footing quickly and damn near flew back down the hallway to where Law was.

"That was quick," Law had Zoro draped over his back and he straightened up when Sanji skidded to a halt in front of him, holding out Kikoku. Law took it back and hefted it over his shoulder, eyes darting up and down the corridor. "Did you see any windows?"

"No," Sanji shook his head, feeling rather out of breath (and damn, was he really _that _out of shape). "It's gotta be that way, though," he pointed toward the wall they were facing, leading away from the dungeons, and Law nodded.

"Right. Let's keep going and hope we get to a window…or at least something where I can see the outside," he turned the opposite way that Sanji had come from, and Sanji thought it might have been his imagination but he could have sworn he heard footsteps from farther down the corridor as they set off.

Daylight pouring in through another door, a closed one this time, stopped them both short. Sanji didn't even hesitate before kicking it in. He was glad to see that the window was large enough that they could just climb out instead of needing to warp, but since it led onto a narrow ledge on the cliff with a sharp drop to the sea below, Sanji reasoned that most people wouldn't see it a viable escape route.

He looked around the room, unable to stop the horrified gasp that came out once he realized where they were. It was…he shuddered…a storage room for torture implements, and some of the things he saw hanging on the walls had bile rising in his throat because the thought of those men using them on Zoro…

Law, however, seemed hardly affected and in fact was already rummaging through shelves and throwing things into his bag. Sanji was about to ask why when the other man's eyes widened and he stalked across the room, not even bothering to use his power as he slammed Kikoku's hilt through the glass-fronted window of a cabinet.

Sanji could see a number of vials inside, along with a few bags of powder, and Law swept them all into his bag just as an alarm started sounding.

"_Shit," _Sanji hissed, unsure if it was Law breaking the glass or somebody finding the unconscious guard that had triggered it, but either way they had to _move _and Law scooped up his bag, adjusting Zoro on his back before both of them jumped through the window.

The ledge outside was even narrower than Sanji had first thought and he had to flail his arms to keep his balance. It was windy out in plain view of the ocean, but there _was _a ship sticking close to the rock edge and Sanji could see enough of its Jolly Roger to know it was the one they needed.

"Law! Can you get us down there?" he yelled above the wind, reaching to grab Law's arm and holding him as steady as he could.

"They're going to lose a cannon since it's the biggest thing I can clearly see," Law replied, and Sanji decided he'd get them a new cannon if they were that upset about it.

"Whatever, just…" Sanji felt something slice through his hair and a stinging pain bloomed along his cheekbone.

Shit. If the bounty hunters were close enough to shoot at them, they _really _needed to get out of there.

"Right," Law yanked him in with his free arm, pulling up a Room large enough to reach to the pirate ship, and after a quick jolt Sanji found himself standing on the deck of the ship…with a number of guns and swords pointed at them.

…right. Sanji hadn't exactly gotten to warn them that this was how he planned on dropping in.

Law was on the defensive immediately, a Room starting to materialize from his hand, and Sanji grabbed his elbow and shook his head.

"Sanji? Damn it, you idiots, you know it's him! Put your weapons down!"

Sanji breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the deck, feeling like he wanted to laugh hysterically and cry at the same time because it was _over, _and he opened his mouth to speak when a panicked voice interrupted him.

"Captain, they're shooting at us!"

"Room," Law had it up before the man had even finished speaking, flicking his fingers and sending the cannonball back in the direction of the fortress to slam directly into the very cannon it had come out of. "Go. I'll take care of any other things they're foolish enough to try."

Sanji heard the captain hollering orders, and the ship's sail caught the wind a moment later, speeding them quickly away from the fortress and, soon enough, out of cannon range.

Law let the room drop, setting Zoro gently down on the deck and dropping his bag. Sanji noted that he still looked on-edge, probably from being on what was, to him, an enemy ship, and he was about to tell Law it was okay when he was nearly barrelled over by somebody and hugged back instinctively.

"Fuck, you had me worried, man!"

"I'm fine," Sanji promised, feeling fine tremors starting to spread through his body from the adrenaline wearing off. Yeah, he'd definitely over-used his Haki, but it had been worth it. "Sorry we showed up out of nowhere," he added, laughing nervously, and the man holding him drew back and shook his head. He looked even more ill than usual, and Sanji felt guilty for making him worry, although Sanji had learned that apparently he just always looked like death warmed over even when he wasn't starving or dealing with the after-effects of being poisoned.

"I don't care how you did it, I'm just glad you're out of there safe," he said, his hand never leaving Sanji's shoulder, and Sanji clapped his own on top of it, thanking whatever fate had seen fit to make their paths cross again after so many years.

Thinking back, it probably wasn't _too _unbelievable that Gin had showed up at the _Baratie_ one day. Sanji had been overjoyed to see him, because he'd always wondered if the other man had finally made his way to the Grand Line, or if in fact he'd ever recovered fully from Krieg's poisoning.

They'd ended up talking for hours, Sanji learning that Gin had cut ties with Krieg and formed his own crew, and he'd been keeping tabs on Sanji as much as he could so when he'd heard about the restaurant he'd wanted to come immediately.

Since then, he'd been a fairly regular customer (he always insisted on paying even though Sanji had threatened to kick him if he didn't accept the food for free), and when Sanji had asked him to be his ride after Zoro was captured he'd agreed without a second thought.

"Is he…" Gin looked at Zoro, and Sanji nodded. "Good," he did look relieved, and while Zoro and Gin hadn't really had that much contact way back in the East Blue, Sanji really hadn't been able to hide the nature of his relationship with the swordsman from the other man. Gin didn't judge him for it, of course, but he did know how much this had meant to Sanji because of it.

"Speaking of, do you have a medical bay or even a bedroom I could use? I'd like to take a closer look at him," Law was all-business, holding out his hand as Gin gaped at him.

"You're…you…"

"Trafalgar Law, yes," Law sighed, as if he was weary of hearing his own name. "And you are?"

"Oh. Um. My name's Gin," he said, looking almost afraid as he shook Law's hand.

"Well then, Mr. Gin, I have to thank you for aiding in our escape," Law smiled rather warmly and Gin visibly relaxed. "And since you're a friend of Sanji's, I feel safe in telling you that all of the awful rumors you've heard about me are completely unfounded."

"That's a relief," Gin gave him a sickly smile but quickly shook his head. "Right! Bedroom's through that door, and let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you," Law picked up Zoro again, glaring at Sanji when he made to follow. "No. The last thing I need is you hovering nervously and distracting me. You know he's in the best possible hands," his voice softened at that.

Sanji nodded, because of course he trusted Law completely, but he still hated the thought of being separated from Zoro any longer than he already had been.

"I'll take care of him," Law's eyes flicked to Gin before he seemingly dismissed him and leaned to kiss Sanji, lingering long enough that Sanji could sense that he was feeling the exact same relief with an undercurrent of concern for Zoro that Sanji himself was. "Don't worry."

Sanji leaned to kiss Zoro's forehead, stroking his fingers down the man's cheek before he stepped away and let Law carry him into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

Gin was blinking at him when he turned back to the captain, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'm guessing there's quite the story behind this?" he asked, and Sanji nodded, taking a step forward before his legs buckled and Gin had to catch him.

"Thanks," Sanji let out a shuddery breath. "How about I make coffee and we can talk?"

"You look like you need sleep more than conversation," Gin pointed out, helping him toward the galley.

"I won't be able to sleep until I know…" he looked back toward the cabin, and Gin murmured something sympathetic into his ear. "But talking will keep my mind off of it, at least. And I'm sure you have questions."

"Since you just fucking made out with an ex-Warlord who's also one of the most notorious pirates in the world, I'd say I do," Gin was teasing and Sanji appreciated it, and he nodded.

"Right. Let's go," Sanji let himself lean on his friend to get him to the galley, and hoped that by the time he'd finished his tale Law would have at least _some _news on Zoro's condition.

And then, maybe, he could finally get some sleep.

**Notes:**

**1\. **Law did mention that maintaining the room after he'd lost his arm was drawing from his life force, and while it might not impact the canon story much, it was a way to add more angst to this one so of course I wanted to mention it…and, when I had originally started this fic, I_ had_ toyed with the idea of Law initially rejecting Sanji and being really cold to him but I just couldn't do that to them after everything else!

**2\. **I don't have much else to say here, other than that I do love Gin and his relationship with Sanji and I really hope he shows up again in the manga, so that's why I wanted to include him in this fic! Also, for anybody missing Zoro, hopefully this chapter makes you at least a little happier about that! Thanks as always for all the reviews and comments, you're all wonderful :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 7/?  
**Word Count:** 3834  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Seven**

"When do you think he'll wake up?"

"Quite honestly, I can't say," Law was slumped in a chair beside the bed, his coat removed so that he was dressed in just a t-shirt and jeans, and he looked ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice. "His constitution, as you and I both know, is exceptionally strong, but he's also been through far more than most normal humans could survive."

"So you were right," Sanji had been afraid of that. He sat down carefully on the bed beside Zoro, glancing at Law briefly for permission before he lifted the swordsman's arm and curled his body under it so that his head was resting on Zoro's shoulder. The other man was breathing easily now, his chest rising and falling evenly, and Sanji could tell he was asleep instead of just being unconscious.

"About them continuously poisoning him?" Law yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "Yes, though this was one time I would have preferred not to be. I removed what I could using my ability, but the nature of Manchineel is such that the body has to heal naturally from some of the after-effects…the internal burns, for instance, I can do little to heal directly, but between what I _could _do and the arrowroot drawing the rest of the poison out of his body, he has a much better chance of healing quickly," he explained, rubbing his eyes.

"Good," Sanji murmured, his own eyes half-closed as he basked in the feeling of Zoro being close and safe again. "C'mere."

"Hmm," Law stood up and stumbled over to the bed, mirroring Sanji's position on Zoro's other side and reaching to clasp the blond's hand where it was resting over Zoro's steadily beating heart. "They'll be back, you know," he said, and Sanji rolled his eyes because Law's penchant for ruining the mood at the worst possible times was still perfectly intact, it seemed. "They weren't expecting me there, which was probably why their reaction time was so slow, but they obviously have eyes at your restaurant and I think it would be best if we didn't return there right away."

"Yeah," Sanji sighed, wondering if he needed to be worried for Brook's safety (but then, he knew the skeleton could take care of himself, and he was pretty sure he'd already figured out Sanji hadn't suddenly left because he was _actually _going on 'vacation'). Law was right, though, since they were all exhausted and running back only to fall into a trap would make all of this useless.

If they laid low for a while, not acting in the way the bounty hunters intended them to, that might throw them off the trail long enough for them to gain the upper hand – and, more importantly, for Zoro to properly recover.

He still wanted to make those bastards pay for what they'd done to Zoro, and he could tell Law was having the same thoughts…and, once Zoro was better, Sanji knew he'd agree as well.

"Hey," Sanji said, getting a sleepy murmur from Law. "When we were in that…" he shivered, thinking back to the room full of torture implements. "What did you grab from there?"

"The things behind the glass?" Law asked, looking at him through half-lidded eyes. "That was the manchineel, and the powder was arrowroot, so that saved me some time having to do it myself. I've no doubt they can acquire more if they wish it, but at least we depleted their stores of the poison somewhat," he squeezed Sanji's hand and the blond felt a bit of relief about that.

"And the other stuff?" Sanji wasn't sure if he wanted to know, especially since Law wasn't offering up the information freely, but the smirk on the other man's lips made him shiver regardless.

"I was being…proactive," Law decided, his voice a near-purr. "You should know by now that implements of torture can have…other uses…"

And Sanji gulped, because an image of Law from so long ago, locked into that posture bar with his lips wrapped around Sanji's cock, was suddenly fresh in his memory again.

"Fuck," he mumbled, seeing Law's smirk widen, and he couldn't even be _too _creeped out by the whole thing.

"As I told you," Law rubbed his thumb over the back of Sanji's knuckles, a light touch that held so much promise, "five years is a _long _time to come up with new ideas."

Sanji didn't get a chance to reply because of a sharp knock on the door, and he groaned before reluctantly sliding out of bed and crossing to it.

He yanked it open to find a rather nervous-looking Gin on the other side and grinned at him, leaning against the doorframe. The other man hadn't reacted much outwardly to Sanji's explanation about Law and Zoro, but Sanji could tell he was still a little awed that Sanji was involved with somebody as seemingly terrifying as everybody still believed Law to be.

Fuck, even after five years and Law practically dropping off the face of the earth people still were scared shitless of him, and Sanji bet Law himself was rather proud of that fact.

"Hey," he stepped back, letting Gin into the room (it _was _his bedroom, after all, so it would have been rude to just…take it over). "What's up?"

"I wanted to know where we're headed," Gin crossed his arms, frowning. "I don't think it's safe for you to go back to the _Baratie _right away."

"Yeah, we had the same thought," Sanji admitted, ducking his head to hide the smile that popped up instinctively at Gin's perpetual worrying for his well-being. "Hey, you know where you dropped me off to begin with? On the other side of the island?"

At Gin's answering nod, he continued, "well, Law's got a cottage there, so I think that's where we'll head to start with. I mean, if you can…"

"For you, anything," Gin assured him, clapping his shoulder and then leaving his hand there. "Just tell me when you need to be picked up."

"A week should suffice."

Gin blanched and took a step backward as Law got up from the bed, but Sanji had no idea how Gin could be afraid of him (and really, a guy with 'demon' in his nickname hardly seemed like he'd be afraid of much), especially since in his current state Law hardly looked intimidating.

"Right. We'll do that," he nodded quickly and Law rubbed his eyes, sighing wearily.

"Also, I hate to ask you this because we've imposed on your kindness too much already, but I fear my home is rather woefully understocked as we took most of the provisions with us on our journey," he looked to Sanji for confirmation and the blond nodded, since Law's pantry and fridge hadn't been _that _full to begin with they'd needed almost all of it to have enough food for the trek cross the island. "The nearest town is less than a day's sail away, but…"

"It's no problem," Gin assured them, much too quickly, but he still looked a little fearful as to what Law would do if he refused. "Really, just give me a list of supplies you need and we'll get it all."

"Mr. Gin, you need to stop presuming that saying 'no' to me will result in you meeting some horrible fate," he looked wryly amused, arms sliding around Sanji's waist and leaning his chin on top of the blond's head (and yeah, sometimes Sanji forgot how much of a height difference there was between them, but it didn't bother him that much…most of the time). "But it would be quite a large help if you'd be willing."

"Like I said, it's fine," Gin waved his hands as if to emphasize just how okay with it he was, but his body relaxed a little and he slumped down into the slouched pose Sanji had come to expect from him. "I'll tell my guys to leave you alone for the night, but if you need anything else…supplies or food or anything, just grab it or come get me if you can't find things right away."

"Again, I appreciate your assistance immensely," Law's voice was so low and soothing that Sanji closed his eyes and leaned more heavily against him, still needing sleep more than anything. "Come on, let's get you to bed," Law murmured and Sanji sighed, eventually nodding.

When he looked up he saw Gin looking at them with a rather unreadable expression on his face, but Sanji had a good guess as to what it was about, since most people didn't realize how utterly caring and human Law could be when he wanted to.

It was such a far cry from his supposed personality that it had to be a little jarring to see, he supposed, but he was used to it by now.

"And while I'm sure we'll be hungry later, I believe at the moment both of us are too exhausted to consider eating," Law added, which got a quick nod from Gin.

"Right. I'll see you later," Gin gave Sanji a pointed look before leaving that the blond wasn't sure what to make of, but probably was some sort of rebuke for not taking care of himself.

Gin, for all he had a rather terrifying reputation of his own, treated Sanji like some sort of overprotective mother hen most of the time.

Sanji didn't mind it, really, since he knew the other man simply had his best interests at heart, but it was certainly endearing.

"Come on," Law pulled Sanji toward the bed, stopping when they reached it and prompting the other man to turn around so they were facing each other. "You need to sleep."

"So do you. I know how much using your ability exhausts you," Sanji countered, tangling his fingers in Law's hair and arching up to kiss him. Law held him close and returned the kiss, both of them breaking apart reluctantly. He slid out of Law's arms and damn near collapsed on the bed, yanking the covers over himself and curling into Zoro's warmth.

He barely felt Law get into bed, sleep already creeping up on him, and he knew without a doubt that this would be the best rest he'd had in a long time.

000

They reached Law's cabin a couple of days later, the journey much faster by water than over land (plus they could sail 24 hours a day, which made up a lot of time).

Zoro hadn't woken up yet, although Law didn't seem overly concerned about that so Sanji wasn't going to worry, either. Law carried the swordsman into his home, brushing through the kitchen to set him on the bed in the bedroom (and, Sanji noticed, the first place he went was to check if Doflamingo's hand and heart were still in the drawer. His shoulders became a lot less tense after seeing that they were) before turning to Gin.

"Right, give me a moment and I'll write out a supply list. Tell the shopkeeper at Zou that I sent you and he'll probably insist on giving you a discount," Law sounded disgruntled about that but Sanji figured that, since the other man _had _saved the lives of a good number of the villagers, it was only natural they'd try to thank him in whatever way they could.

Law just didn't handle gratitude well, and Sanji had long since decided he never would.

"Do you guys need anything in the meantime? We've got extra food on the ship," Gin offered as Law bustled about trying to find parchment and a pencil.

"No, we should be fine. We've got the garden and I've got a freezer that I still have some fish and meat in," Law replied. "It shouldn't take you more than two days to make the return trip," he added, scribbling down a bunch of things (and Sanji saw that the old story about doctors' handwriting being impossible to read was proving true) before he handed it over.

Gin squinted at it, tilting his head to the side and soundlessly mouthing a few things until Law took pity on him and explained what the scrawl on the page meant, and the other captain nodded after a few moments.

"I'll pay you back for any supplies if you bring me a total," Law added, and Gin once again looked shocked that Law would even offer.

He'd gotten better around Law in the past couple of days (or, at least, he wasn't jumping a foot in the air whenever the other man showed up), but apparently old habits and rumors didn't just disappear overnight.

"Sounds good. We'll be back in a couple of days, then," he held out his hand and Law shook it firmly, giving him a kind half-smile.

Sanji stepped forward and hugged the other man, whispering a quick "thank you again for everything" before he pulled away, and Gin tucked the list into his pocket and gave them a quick salute before leaving the cabin.

"Now, hopefully we can have a few days to just relax before something inevitably causes us problems again," Law grunted, falling into a chair by the kitchen table and rubbing his temples. "I'm far too old for this."

"Thought you weren't old," Sanji grinned, plopping himself in the surgeon's lap and resting their foreheads together. "We were fucking amazing."

"Mm," Law conceded, framing Sanji's waist with his hands. "We do make a rather good team."

"Damn right," Sanji leaned to kiss him and this time, finally, he didn't feel any guilt at all for letting himself get lost in it.

000

Zoro woke up the next night.

Sanji barely realized it at first, since he'd gotten so used to waking up in bed with Zoro, but after staring into the other man's eye for a good ten seconds his sleep-addled brain finally got through to him.

"Hey," he whispered, trying to stay calm even though he was nearly giddy with excitement.

"What's…" Zoro frowned, his voice coming out raspy and hoarse, and he licked his lips. "What…am I…is this…"

"I'm real, Marimo," Sanji assured him. "And you know I'll kick you if that's what it'll take to get you to believe me."

Zoro frowned at that and shook his head slowly.

"How do you feel?" Sanji asked, his voice softening. "You were in pretty bad shape."

"Yeah, I dunno what they did to me, but it fucking _hurt," _he grimaced, eye narrowing in what Sanji hoped what just remembered pain. Sanji leaned in to kiss him, anything to wipe that look from his face, and Zoro kissed back with an intensity that more than anything else told Sanji how relieved he was to have been rescued.

He broke the kiss before it could get too heated, knowing that Zoro's health came first, and the other man seemed to be taking a quick assessment of his body before he continued speaking.

"It's…I feel kind of…numb, but…"

"Those would be the painkillers," Law supplied, and Zoro's body went rigid.

"Fuck, now I _know _I'm hallucinating," the swordsman's voice sounded haunted and Sanji wrapped his arms around the other man, shaking his head.

"You're not," he promised, watching the confusion and then utter disbelief play out over Zoro's features. "How do you think we got you out of there so easily?"

"I was going to fucking kick your ass for putting yourself in danger just to save me, but I guess you were never in any, huh?" a grin slowly spread across Zoro's face and he tried to shift, but Law pushed him onto his back instead and leaned over him.

"Hello, Zoro," he murmured, causing the other man to roll his eye.

"I'd better get more than a damn 'hello' after _five years,_" Zoro grunted, reaching to trace his fingertips down Law's cheek. "You look good, Trafalgar."

"Don't tell him that, he'll just whine about being old," Sanji muttered, throwing one leg over Zoro's waist and cuddling up to his side. "And seriously, what did you think I was gonna do? Let them turn you into the Marines and haul you off to Impel Down? Fuck that," Sanji knew that Zoro didn't _actually _want that to happen, of course, but by now Sanji thought he would have realized how hard Sanji would be willing to fight for him.

"It would have been better than you getting hurt," Zoro said, his tone utterly serious, and Sanji found he couldn't even be mad at the other man when he was really just looking out for Sanji's own well-being.

It was frustrating, yeah, but Sanji would have done the same thing.

"More to the point," Law cleared his throat and Zoro glanced up at him. "Are you in any pain? You were poisoned quite badly by a rather nasty species of local tree, and while I've done what I can to remove the poison from your system, it's one that burns on contact and there's not much I can do for damage your body has already sustained-" he cut off as Zoro sighed and yanked him into a rather graceless kiss, but Sanji could _see _the tension melt from Law's body as the kiss deepened.

And fuck, he shouldn't be getting _emotional _over this, but it was something he thought he would never see again, that he'd never get to _be _with both of them again, and that was hitting him really hard after everything.

"I see your tact remains non-existent," Law grumbled as he pulled away and Zoro grinned at him.

"Nah, Chopper can tell you what a bad patient he is," Sanji put in. "He doesn't care what injuries he has or how bad they are, he just wants to know when he can start training again."

"Damn right," Zoro replied, rubbing his thumbs over Law's hipbones. "But, um, thanks. For saving me. I…" he frowned, and Sanji had the feeling he was trying to resist the urge to say something sappy.

"I know. It's good to see you, too," Law leaned down to kiss him again and Sanji propped his chin up on his hand, watching them with an amused smile.

Of course they'd never fucking admit to _missing _each other, but it was obvious nonetheless.

"Honestly, though," Law pulled back again. "Pain?"

"No…like I said, just kind of…tingly," he looked down at his stomach. "But that first night…they just…stabbed me with this needle and I had no idea what the fuck they were doing. I thought they were just trying to put me to sleep or something but then…" his voice was almost a growl and Sanji knew that it was as much to do with wounded pride as anything.

Zoro, of course, hated being perceived as weak, and having his body attacked from the inside…well, that wasn't something anybody could do anything against, but of course he'd consider it a personal failure despite that.

"We know," Law's voice was quiet. "Sanji…"

"Oh, fuck," Zoro looked at him, flopping his arm to the side and drawing the blond closer. "I tried to force the pain away, but…"

"It's okay, it just scared the shit out of me because I didn't know what was happening to you," Sanji curled back up against his side. "Fuck, I just want to make those bastards pay," he growled.

"We will," Law sounded utterly sure. "But our first priority is getting you back into top form," he poked Zoro's shoulder. "Which means you're on bedrest until I say otherwise, and you really need to get some nutrients back into your body."

"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry," Zoro didn't look happy, although Sanji figured that was because he knew Law would make sure he stayed in bed and he wouldn't be nearly as easy-going as Chopper if Zoro tried to sneak away. "I'll eat anything."

"Chicken broth," Law replied, and Zoro growled. "I'm a doctor first, and right now you're my patient," he emphasized, sitting back on his heels. "It's probably been a week since you've eaten anything substantial, so we need to make sure your body can handle it, and chicken broth will give you some nutrients without being overly hard on your stomach," he'd reverted back to his doctor-voice and Sanji could see the fight leaving Zoro's body (although, to be fair, that was probably just because he knew there was no arguing with Law when he got like this and not because he was _actually _giving in).

"Okay, fine. Whatever," Zoro rolled onto his side and buried his face in the pillow, and Law motioned Sanji to follow him out into the kitchen.

"We'll be back, okay," Sanji set his hand on Zoro's shoulder, getting a grunt and a nod, before he slid out of bed and padded out of the bedroom. "Tell me you didn't need my help to warm up chicken broth," he leaned against the counter and raised an eyebrow. He knew Law had some…at least, he'd assumed that's what was in the jars in his freezer, but with Law being a doctor there was always a chance it was something less savory.

"I don't. I just wanted to ask your opinion of his condition without him insisting he's fine," Law gave him a knowing look as he dug a pot out from the cupboard and got the stove started. He walked over to the freezer and pulled it open to take a jar out.

He used his ability to slice the jar in half, the still-frozen pucks of chicken stock dropping into the pot, before he stuck the jar back together and set it down on the countertop.

"Show-off," Sanji rolled his eyes, but he had to admit he hadn't seriously considered how useful Law's ability could be in the kitchen.

"It's easier than waiting for it to thaw," Law shrugged, standing beside the stove and looking into the pot. "Now. How does he seem to you?"

"He's not hiding anything," Sanji decided, because by now he was able to tell when Zoro was pretending to be less hurt than he actually was. "So I think he's telling the truth."

"Good. Whether he can stomach this will be the true indicator of how well his internal injuries are healing, but I'm going to need you to keep me updated on how fast his recovery is progressing," Law grabbed a wooden spoon and started stirring around the frozen blocks, watching them melt into liquid broth.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him honest," Sanji promised, hopping up to sit on the counter.

"I'm glad he's awake," Law said after a few minutes of silence, the broth slowly starting to steam as it heated up.

Sanji nodded, because even if Zoro and Law wouldn't admit such things to each other, he knew.

"Yeah," he agreed, because for the first time in a long time, he felt like things were finally falling into place for him. "Me, too."

**Notes:**

**1\. **I don't have a lot to say this time around (other than that I'm glad people are excited to see Gin here!) but I've got a feeling you all will probably like this chapter? Thanks again for all the reviews and comments!


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 8/?  
**Word Count:** 3419  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Eight**

"So, was he as good as you remember?"

"Hmm?" Sanji was still half-asleep, resting on Zoro's shoulder and just enjoying being close. The other man had handled the soup with no problems, which Law had been rather happy about, and after that they'd all gone back to sleep.

Except, of course, Zoro had been sleeping for a few days so he'd decided to poke Sanji awake instead of disturbing Law (though the blond couldn't say he appreciated the attention in this particular case).

"You know," Zoro shrugged, and Sanji narrowed his eyes and tried to figure out what Zoro was talking about. "You mean, you guys didn't…" he looked confused, brow furrowed, and Sanji _finally _got it.

"No! Fuck no!" he hissed. "Sex was the _last _thing on my mind knowing you were being fucking _tortured!"_

"…Oh," Zoro looked mildly chagrined, but also kind of relieved, and Sanji felt guilty that the other man had even thought for a second he was less important than sex. "I mean, I wouldn't be mad…"

"I've got _morals, _Marimo, and so does he," he muttered, but when he looked up again Zoro was smiling at him. "What?"

"You two. You're hopeless," he grinned and Sanji sighed, even though that was a pretty accurate assessment of them.

"Are you saying if it had been me in that dungeon you wouldn't have held back?" Sanji glared at the other man, even though he knew Zoro was just teasing him.

At least, he thought so.

"Of course not, Cook," Zoro snorted. "But you're way more into sex than either of us."

"I can still hold myself back when somebody's life is on the line," Sanji sighed and lay back down, running his thumb over Zoro's collarbone. The swordsman, true to his nature, had listened impassively while he'd eaten his chicken broth as Law and Sanji had explained everything that had happened in the past week.

His expression hadn't changed but Sanji knew that he'd heard everything and was processing it in his own way. Sanji couldn't tell if he was angry at Law, or if he understood why the other man had chosen to keep his distance, but he didn't seem to hold any lingering resentment toward the surgeon (other than a general annoyance that Law was dictating his sleeping and eating schedules for the time being), and Sanji was fine with that.

Sometimes he wished that his brain worked more like Zoro's, that he could just hear something and make an immediate decision on how to react to it without ever second-guessing himself, but he figured that if he hadn't been able to do that by now he probably never would.

"Nobody's life is on the line now," Zoro's words pulled him back to the present and Sanji glanced up, blinking.

"You're still injured," he protested, even though the words sounded feeble to his own ears. "You…"

"So give me a show, Cook," Zoro smirked and Sanji was torn between wanting to kiss him and wanting to kick him for being so damn difficult.

He ended up doing the former, but that didn't mean he hadn't considered the second option, too.

000

It didn't take much to convince Law once Zoro had woken him up (although he'd interrogated Zoro for a good five minutes before deciding that if all he was doing was watching it shouldn't be an issue), but for some reason now that the decision had been made they were all strangely awkward.

Fuck, he and Law had been naked with each other nearly every night with no issue, but now everything felt strange.

"I should add," Law turned back to Zoro and tilted his head to the side, "that the painkillers I gave you probably make maintaining an erection rather difficult…"

"Look, you two have held out for a _week, _and that's pretty damn good considering I know how horny he is," Zoro jerked his thumb in Sanji's direction and the blond was getting a _little _tired at all of the other man's continual jabs at his libido. "You can make it up to me later," he grinned and Law smiled back, leaning to kiss the other man before he stood up.

"Right. Well, I suppose I should…" he turned around without finishing his sentence and headed out of the bedroom, Sanji hearing a bit of scuffling before he returned pushing one of the plush armchairs from the living room in front of him. "Here…"

"I can walk," Zoro batted his hand away and stood up, wobbling a little on his feet before he walked shakily over to the chair and collapsed in it, breathing heavily. "Okay. I'm not healed yet."

"No, so stop doubting my diagnosis," Law flicked his forehead and Zoro growled at him, catching his wrist and pulling him down into his lap. "You really are a horrible patient."

"Yeah. Get used to it," Zoro kissed him again, more insistently, and Sanji saw Law's body tense before his shoulders slumped and he angled his head more into the kiss.

Sanji pushed himself up farther to watch them, thinking that just like he and Law had reconnected remarkably quickly, the same seemed to be true for Law and Zoro as well. He knew Zoro's methods, though, and when he wanted something he just pushed his way through until he got it…which seemed exactly like what he was doing now.

Law was hardly objecting, though, so Sanji figured that meant they all really _were _fine with each other again, and that much was comforting.

He sat up and stripped off the t-shirt he'd gone to sleep in, running one hand through his hair. The movement must have caught Law's eye because he pulled away from Zoro's lips with a pleased hum and looked back toward the bed, golden eyes flashing in a way that Sanji had learned meant he was getting aroused.

"So," Sanji leaned back against the pillows, stretching so that his body was fully on display, and slid his pajama pants down his hips a little. "Gonna use any of those things you picked up on me?"

"Patience," Law chuckled, looking back at Zoro and trailing the fingers of his real hand through the man's earrings. "Though I'm sure Zoro wouldn't object, I think we'll save those for a later date," he glanced up at Sanji again. "This is going to sound extremely sentimental, but seeing as this is the first time in five years…I just want it to be _us_," he said, grimacing at his own words, and Sanji had to grip his fingers into the sheets because his stomach had just swooped more violently than if he'd been on a ship going over a huge wave.

"Get the fuck over here," he growled instead, trying to cover up how much those words had affected him, and Law decided to listen for once. He stripped off his own shirt and quickly got out of his jeans on the way over, damn near pouncing on Sanji and latching onto his neck, and Sanji wrapped his arms around Law's back and just held on.

"I forgot how damn sappy you idiots were," Zoro grunted, though Sanji could hear the smile in his voice.

"You know it's not something I make a habit of around anyone else," Law kissed Sanji's throat, moving back and reaching toward the bedside table. "I think I've still got…" he dug inside the drawer, pulling out a small bottle. "I haven't needed it in five years," he shrugged, and Zoro snorted. "Problem?"

"If you expect me to believe you've got a vibrating hand and you never got yourself off with it I'm gonna be insulted," Zoro replied, something of a challenge in his tone, and Sanji whimpered without meaning to because the image he'd just gotten of Law fingering himself was making his brain melt a little.

"People really do need to give you more credit, Zoro," Law purred, uncapping the bottle and pouring some of the oil onto his fingers.

"I'm not stupid," Zoro shrugged. "I mean, I'm not as smart as you guys, but I'm not stupid."

"No, most certainly not," Law moved over Sanji again. "I should have asked first instead of assuming, but if you'd rather…"

Sanji shook his head, sliding his pants down his legs and kicking them away. He wrapped one leg around Law's waist, pulling him in, and angled his hips upward.

"No. I want you to fuck me."

"Okay," Law leaned down to kiss him, sliding his finger in at the same moment, and Sanji breathed out slowly.

It had been a while for him too, after all, but there was something about Law that was so inherently calming for him that his body relaxed instinctively. He slid his fingers into Law's hair, clenching at the fluffy strands.

Sanji could feel the other man trembling, every inch of him shaking, and he pulled away from Law's mouth and wrapped him up in the tightest hug he was capable of.

"It's okay," he murmured into Law's hair. He knew what this was about, because Law was so damn good at bottling up his emotions but every once in a while he just…couldn't anymore and they came out of him in a rush. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," Law promised, but he was still shivering, and Sanji heard the scrape of chair legs before Zoro practically slumped on top of Law, a determined look in his eye.

"Look," he growled, and Law let his body slump between them. "If it's what you want…there's no reason you ever have to be alone again. I mean…"

"He _means _that you're not getting rid of us so easily again," Sanji replied, knowing that admitting as much was probably too sappy for Zoro. "Although, like he said, it's up to you…"

"Yes," Law said, not hesitating for a second. "Yes, I…I Want that."

"Good," Sanji nudged his forehead against Law's and breathed with him for a few moments. "Now hurry up and fuck me."

"Patience," Law wiggled his fingers and Sanji realized they were still inside of him. "And you need to go back and sit in your ch-" he was cut off by Zoro kissing him again, something entirely consuming and possessive about the action, and Law surrendered to it to it immediately. "Mm," he sighed when Zoro finally pulled back. "As I was _saying, _you need to go sit in your chair, and if that was an attempt to distract me, it didn't work," he smirked, causing Zoro to roll his eye, but he did get off and shuffle back to the chair before collapsing into it.

"And yet you're willingly agreeing to being stuck with him forever," Sanji teased, getting a half-smile from Law.

"I've never backed down from a challenge, and stubborn patients are merely a…minor inconvenience," he pressed his fingers deeper and Sanji moaned when they brushed his prostate, not even caring how shameless he was being.

It had been too fucking long to worry about things like that.

"I'd forgotten how responsive you are," Law mumbled, nose pressed against his neck. "Fuck, I…"

"Don't," Sanji knew what Law was feeling, because the last night they'd had together …they'd all been trying to take in as much as they could, but five years was a long time and no matter how hard they tried there was bound to be things they'd forget, details that they'd overlook, and for Law…who'd lost so much in his life…there was probably a lot he was trying desperately to cling onto.

"I dunno how you could forget _that," _Zoro put in and Sanji glared at him. "Seriously, he's so damn loud…"

"I don't hear you _complaining _about that, Mari-_fuck!" _he groaned as Law curled his fingers, pressing deep inside him with unrelenting pressure.

"Now, you two bickering all the time is something I certainly _do _remember," Law slid a third finger in and Sanji dropped his head against the pillows, pressing his hips back.

"I'm good," he mumbled, because he couldn't wait any longer.

"If it's been a while, I think I should…"

"I'm _good, _Law," he promised, cupping Law's cheeks and forcing their eyes to meet, and the other man nodded after staring into his eyes.

"Okay," Law pulled out his fingers, wiping his hand on the sheets. Sanji wrapped his legs around Law's waist and pulled him closer, hands gripping his shoulders. "Relax for me," he murmured, and Sanji didn't even need to be told because he _was _relaxed just being with Law again.

He yanked Law into a kiss, willing his body to stay lax even as Law lifted his hips and pressed inside, as steady and unrelenting as he always had been. Sanji squeezed his eyes shut and told himself it was fucking stupid to even feel _close _to crying over _sex, _but his emotions apparently weren't listening to his brain at the moment.

"Sanji?" Law's voice was trembling as much as the rest of him and Sanji forced himself to take a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "I'm glad I'm not the only one affected," Law laughed, the sound harsh and nervous, and Sanji wondered what he meant by that.

There was no way Law was _still _doubting his feelings, was there?

He'd barely finished the thought before dismissing it because, well, this was _Law, _so of course there was.

"I love you," he murmured into Law's ear, holding him as tight as he could. "So fucking much. I…"

"I know. I do," Law certainly _sounded _like he was sure, but Sanji knew he was an expert at covering his insecurities so that didn't mean much. "Or rather, my heart does. My brain still seems to need some convincing."

Sanji laughed against his shoulder, because sometimes it still amazed him how alike they were.

"Seriously, are you two gonna fuck or are you just gonna lie there whispering to each other?"

"You're ruining the moment, Marimo," Sanji replied, turning his head so that he could look at Zoro.

The swordsman was smiling, though, and he didn't look annoyed in the least, so Sanji decided he wouldn't bug him _too _much about it.

"He's right," Law mentioned, hiking Sanji's legs up a little and leaning forward.

"Hmm, yeah, so get moving," Sanji regretted that a moment later because _he'd _forgotten how much force Law had behind those scrawny hips of his and he yelped without meaning to when the other man thrust forward.

Law seemed unwilling to hold off any longer, though, and he soon settled into a rhythm that Sanji found remarkably easy to match, rolling his hips and pressing Law's cock deep inside of himself with every rotation.

He hitched his legs up higher, wrapping his hands around the back of Law's neck and pulling him into a sloppy kiss. Law was practically holding him off of the mattress now, fucking him with deep, long strokes that left him gasping.

"Sanji…" Law breathed, his voice tight, and Sanji nodded and kissed him again because he knew how much Law still hated showing any sign of vulnerability. "Hold on," he broke away to say and Sanji glanced at him curiously, yelping when Law set a hand under his back and pulled him upright so that he was practically sitting in Law's lap. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah," Sanji nodded, rocking his hips and groaning because the angle pushed him even farther onto Law.

"I'm not going to last, I…it's been too long," Law gave him a shaky smile and Sanji reached to comb his fingers through the other man's sweat-mussed hair.

"It's fine," he promised, pressing his lips to Law's forehead. "We've got _plenty _of time to build up your stamina again," he teased, grunting when Law decided that was his cue to start moving.

His hands were clamped on Sanji's hips, holding him in place, and Sanji clung to Law's shoulders and just held on. He breathed him in, letting the moment consume him, and he was close enough that he heard the tell-tale hitch of breath that told him Law was barely holding himself together.

Because that?

That he remembered.

"Let go," he urged, mouth dropping open when Law thrust up strongly one last time before his body went rigid. Sanji turned his head and licked at the shell of Law's ear, running his tongue around the other man's earrings and hearing Law give a choked-off moan as he worked through his orgasm.

His hips pumped weakly a few last times before stilling and he shook his head like he was trying to clear it, bringing a hand between their bodies and reminding Sanji of his own rather insistent erection.

"Hold on," Law murmured, Sanji about to ask why before Law's fingers wrapped around his cock and the vibrations started and then it was all he could do to keep his body upright because _fuck, _that was intense.

Law kept his hand moving slowly, trailing up his cock and brushing his thumb over the leaking slit, the unrelenting vibrations even more intense where he was the most sensitive.

"_Shit, _Law," he curled his toes into the sheets, gritting his teeth and trying to eke out as much pleasure as he could because it was _almost _too much but it still felt incredible.

"Come for me," Law mumbled and Sanji felt his body respond instantly (and add _that _to the list of things he remembered, because Law could practically make him orgasm on command and apparently that hadn't changed), whining low in his throat and bucking his hips into Law's hand.

"Nngh," he groaned, the vibrations too intense against his over-sensitized cock now, and Law turned his arm off immediately.

Instead of pulling out right away, however, he wrapped Sanji up in a hug so fierce it nearly squeezed the breath out of him, and he returned the embrace once he'd figured out what was going on.

"I love you," Law mumbled against his neck, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Sanji murmured, tracing his fingers down Law's back. He looked over to where Zoro was sitting, not at all surprised that the other man had disappeared again, and he nearly pitched forward when the swordsman slumped against his back. "Hey."

"Hey," Zoro replied, kissing his neck. "I really fucking hope it's the painkillers because otherwise my sex drive has completely gone away. You two're so damn hot."

And yeah, normally Sanji would be annoyed with him for completely wrecking the mood, but since the mood was turning depressing he was glad Zoro had decided to intervene.

"Trust me, you'll feel more like yourself soon," Law promised, resting his chin on Sanji's shoulder, and Zoro leaned to kiss him. "Hmm. I guess we should…"

"Yeah," Sanji braced his hands on Law's shoulders and pushed himself upright, Law's cock slipping from his body. He squeaked when Zoro pulled him off-balance and into his lap and swatted at his thigh before settling himself there comfortably.

Law flopped onto his back, splaying out against the sheets, and Sanji let himself admire the other man.

"So I'll ask again," Zoro cleared his throat: "Was he as good as you remember?"

"Yeah. Better," Sanji replied honestly, because memories could hardly compare to the real thing, and Law gave them both a sleepy, sated smile that let Sanji know he felt the same.

"Good," Zoro murmured.

Sanji blinked slowly, trying to hold off sleep as long as he could, and reached back to tug at Zoro's top. "Take your shirt off."

"Why?"

Zoro sounded suspicious, but after a pointed look from Sanji he sighed and stripped it off, huffing an annoyed breath when Sanji spread it over his lap and patted his thigh.

Law pushed himself up enough to slide the few feet that was left between him, pillowing his head on Sanji's leg and curling his body toward them.

"That's why," Sanji replied, tracing his fingers over the heart tattooed on Law's shoulder. Zoro reached around him to play with Law's hair, rubbing the other man's scalp and making him let out a sound that was almost a purr.

He looked so content, so completely open and unguarded, and Sanji knew that, this time, there was no way he and Zoro were _ever_ letting go of Law.

"I'm glad we found you again," Zoro spoke the words like it was an effort to admit them, but Law blinked open his golden eyes and nodded.

"So am I."

**Notes:**

**1\. **Once again I don't have much to say here since there wasn't any real plot advancement that happened, but I hope you all enjoyed the sappy smut. I figured it was time they got to enjoy themselves a little :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 9/?  
**Word Count:** 3663  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Nine**

"Hey, bro! Just checking up on your…"

"Oh, dear."

Sanji stood in the doorway blinking, trying to get his brain to catch up with what his eyes were seeing. He'd assumed when there'd been a knock on the door early the next morning that maybe Gin had sailed through the night and was back already, and since Zoro was still 'supposed' to not be moving and Law kind of grunted at him when he tried to wake him up, he guessed that meant he had to answer the door.

Seeing Franky and Robin on the other side, however, had _not _been something he'd considered, and especially not when he was wearing nothing but a pair of Law's jeans.

"Well," Robin blinked at him a few times before clearing her throat, a kind smile adorning her beautiful face. "Hello, Sanji. I can't say we expected to find you here."

"Uh…likewise," Sanji realized he was probably being rude and he should invite them in…or something…but it still really wasn't his house. "Do you…we're waiting on supplies, but I think there's some coffee or tea, and I can probably find something for breakfast…"

"Bro, if it's your cooking, I'm down!" Franky clapped his shoulder on the way by and nearly threw him off-balance, and as he headed into the kitchen he called back, "So that arm I gave Law's still workin' pretty _super, _huh?" he waggled his eyebrows rather suggestively and Sanji groaned loudly.

Apparently Franky's rather unsubtle interest in their sex life was still alive and well.

"I take it there's a story behind your appearance here?" Robin asked, and he plastered a smile onto his face and turned back to her.

"Of course, my darling! It's quite a long tale, but I'll be happy to tell you over coffee!" he held out his arm and she chuckled lowly and slipped hers through it, letting him guide her to the kitchen. "Though I'm quite curious as to your appearance here as well, since I was…under the impression nobody from our old crew knew where Law was…"

He saw Robin's eyes narrow at that and she patted his hand, and Sanji realized that had come out a little more jealously than he'd intended.

Because yeah, the fact that Law had reached out to Franky and Robin and not _him? _

That kind of hurt.

Scratch 'kind of', that really fucking hurt a lot.

"I'm surprised you didn't guess!" Franky sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, which creaked rather ominously under the weight of his metal body. "I mean, the plumbing system? The fridge? The freezer?"

And now that he mentioned it, Sanji realized it _was _a bit odd for Law to have those sorts of luxuries in a cabin on a deserted island, especially because from what he remembered of Zou their technology wasn't nearly so advanced.

He'd just gotten used to Franky's work after so long, with both the _Sunny _and now the _Baratie, _that he hadn't thought anything of it.

It made everything make at least a _little _more sense, though, since Law was kind of notoriously picky when it came to needing his creature comforts, and he knew that Franky was the best when it came to building anything like that.

Still, it reminded Sanji far too much of the time just after Dressrosa, when Law had avoided him for a week but had talked to Franky about everything while they were designing his arm, and Sanji had thought…

"I heard voices, is Mr. Gin back-" Law stopped in the doorway, his eyes widening. He looked from Sanji and Robin to Franky and back again, straightening up and leaning against the doorframe with a rather put-upon smirk on his lips. "Well. I didn't realize you'd be dropping in today Mr. Robo; Miss Nico," he intoned formally and Robin nodded to him.

"Yeah, dude, I figured I'd check to see if everything was workin' properly, y'know? It's storm season back at Water 7 so we're steering clear until Aqua Laguna's over and we were gonna swing by here before heading up to the _Baratie," _he nodded to Sanji, who realized it was about that time of year.

That was one of the few times he was always sure he'd see Franky since the other man was so busy with Iceburg and the whole floating city thing normally.

"Is that Franky? Why's he here?" Zoro shuffled out beside Law, blinking a little in the bright sunlight that was streaming through the kitchen windows, and he looked on the verge of collapse just from traveling the few feet he had.

"_Bed, _Zoro," Law said firmly. Zoro shrugged and kind of slumped against him, causing Law to have to half-support him. "Honestly, you need to follow my orders if you're going to heal properly…"

"What happened?" Robin sounded concerned and more than a little surprised, and Sanji could understand that, since it took a hell of a lot to knock Zoro on his ass and even though _he _knew Zoro was healing fine, he still looked like death warmed over.

"Coffee!" Sanji broke in to announce, bustling around the kitchen and getting everything ready, and when Law suggested quietly that they move to the living room once they'd gotten their drinks, nobody objected.

000

"Well, it sounds like you all have had a rather exciting week," Robin had her chin propped on one of her real hands, her other one braced on the broad arm of the chair she was sitting on and a third hand holding the cup of coffee in front of her. Franky was taking up the main part of the armchair, and even though Sanji was _pretty _sure there was something going on between them (he'd seen it coming for years, honestly, even though the thought of trying to wrap his mind around having sex with a cyborg was kind of daunting. Franky had never been shy about letting people know he was still fully human 'down there', but Law's arm was a lot more manageable and a lot less dangerous than most of the weapon-loaded additions to Franky's body), he doubted Robin would want to be squished into the already small chair beside him.

"That's one way to put it, certainly," Law had marched Zoro over to the other armchair and pushed him down to sit with a stern warning not to move, and it was obvious his patience was growing thin enough that even Zoro would have noticed.

Sanji had raced to the bedroom in the meantime to throw a shirt on so that at least he was somewhat presentable, and by the time he came back the only place left for himself and Law to sit was the sofa. He might not have _consciously _been sitting far as humanly possible away from Law but he still kind of was and he realized that, to Franky and Robin who knew the nature of their relationship, it probably didn't look normal.

Neither of them said anything, but he could feel Robin's gaze on him and knew that she'd be bringing it up later.

Yeah, he wasn't exactly looking forward to that conversation.

"We're all gonna be fine, though," Zoro grumbled, glaring into his coffee cup.

"Sanji," Robin's voice made him look up and he wriggled a little on the couch.

"Yes, my dear? Would you like me to top up your coffee?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"I'm fine for now," she assured him. "Rather, I was going to ask if you'd like Franky and I to head to the _Baratie _regardless of you being there or not just to check things out and, perhaps, inform Brook of what has been transpiring."

"I've got a feeling he knows some of it," Sanji admitted, considering it before nodding. "But yeah, that might not be a bad idea. I don't think these guys will try anything else for a while, but I still want to know who on my staff has been feeding them information. They're the only ones who knew Zoro and I were going out that day, after all."

"Right on, then!" Franky crowed. "That's what we're gonna do! But first, about that breakfast…" he looked hopeful and Sanji figured he owed them that at least since he wouldn't be at the restaurant when they showed up.

"Right. I'll see what I can dig up," he stood up, reaching to ruffle Zoro's hair on the way by him before heading into the kitchen to see what they had left to eat.

000

He managed to find some eggs and cheese and made a sort of scramble with some fresh vegetables from the garden, and while it was hardly gourmet food, it was filling enough. Zoro, however, got plain oatmeal, and he complained rather loudly about that until a pointed glare from Law got him to quiet down.

After breakfast, Franky did a cursory check of all of the appliances and the plumbing and electrical systems in Law's house (Sanji learned that the electrical power came from solar panels on the roof, which he hadn't noticed before, but Franky really was kind of a genius when it came to those kinds of things.

He deemed it all in perfect working order and told Law he'd be back in another couple of months to check on it, and he and Robin departed mid-morning, deciding it was more important to check on Brook than stay an extra day with the three of them (though Sanji was pretty convinced a lot of it had to do with the rather noticeable tension between himself and Law, so he couldn't blame them for bailing).

Sanji offered to walk them back to their ship, a small craft that was built like a tank and probably contained so many weapons that Sanji was amazed it could float, and while Franky prepared to set sail Robin set a hand on his arm and motioned for him to walk with her down the beach.

"I understand your frustrations, Sanji," she promised him, rubbing his shoulder gently. "It's clear to anybody how much you two love each other, and I know that even if you'd never admit it, you've been missing him terribly these last few years."

"That's not the point, Robin-chan," he sighed, feeling her fingers press against his shoulder more firmly.

"Perhaps not," she admitted, "but speaking of keeping secrets, you do realize how foolish it was to attempt to rescue Zoro on your own?"

And yeah, Sanji had expected some sort of a lecture at some point, but he knew that at least Robin of all people would _understand _even if she didn't approve of his methods. "I wasn't going to put anybody else in danger for something that was my fault," he said, looking up at her.

She smiled kindly at him for that. "I know you hate feeling like you're leading other people into peril, Sanji, but you do need to remember that all of us love Zoro as well and we're all more than capable of handling a few bounty hunters," her smile turned more cheerful but Sanji knew for her 'handling' meant 'snapping the necks of' and that made her seemingly peaceful expression a little more sinister.

"I know," he sighed, because he did, although his own guilt still wouldn't of let him even take the _chance _one of them could be hurt because of him.

"Still, I suppose it all worked out," she mused, crossing her arms and staring out at the waves. "Regardless, I'm glad you're both alive, and rest assured if these…bounty hunters decide to bother you again, you won't need to face them alone," she promised.

He nodded, nearly floating off of the ground when she leaned to kiss his cheek, and he took her arm and walked with her back to the ship.

"All ready, babe?" Franky asked (and, Sanji thought, if he already hadn't been suspicious that pretty much confirmed the state of their relationship). Robin looked unimpressed at the pet name but didn't say anything, and she turned back to Sanji as they neared the ship.

"We'll see you when you get back to the _Baratie," _she promised, giving him a rather fond look when he kissed her hand before assisting her onto the boat itself.

"Be careful," Sanji felt compelled to add, since he really had no idea _what _was happening at the restaurant or even how many people had secretly been working against him right under his nose (which rankled more than a little because he'd hand-picked all of his employees and he _trusted _them all, and he was supposed to be the one who could tell when people were being dishonest, so obviously he'd dropped the ball majorly on that one).

"Don't worry, bro, we'll handle anything we come across," Franky puffed out his chest and smacked Sanji's shoulder again. "And go make up with your man."

"Franky," Robin said firmly, and Franky thankfully dropped that particular subject.

"Just…tell me one thing," Sanji wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer, but all things considered, he _had _to know. "You two…are you the only ones that…"

"That know he's here? Yes…at least, if anybody else does, we haven't heard of it," Robin replied, and Sanji supposed that was a _little _comforting since Law hadn't just called up Franky for company's sake.

Still, if Law had contacted Franky, he could _easily _have contacted Sanji, and that just opened up a whole can of worms that Sanji really didn't want to dig into too deeply because, quite honestly, he was terrified of what he'd find.

"Okay. We'll see you soon," he shook Franky's hand, inclined his head toward Robin, and hopped off of the ship back to the beach.

He stayed out there until the ship was the merest speck on the horizon, trying to stall as much as he could.

Because, unfortunately, the next conversation he had was probably not going to be a pleasant one.

000

"Are we still on speaking terms?"

"Of course," Sanji blew some smoke out of his mouth, needing a cigarette after everything, and he glanced sideways when Law stepped up beside him.

The back of Law's cabin faced toward the ocean, perched atop a rock-face leading down to a beach that wasn't accessible by water, but he had a wrap-around porch with some deck chairs and a small table outside which was where Sanji had spent most of the afternoon thinking.

He still hadn't come to a decision, not really, but he was tired of the continual back-and-forth with Law and it was starting to wear on his emotions a bit. He knew Law loved him, of course, so that wasn't the issue, but sometimes that wasn't enough.

"I just need to know…fuck, Law, when have I _ever _done anything to make you not trust me?" he snapped, trying to hold his emotions under control and failing rather miserably. "I mean…it's all the time with you, you just…pull away right when it seems like things should be good, and now…"

"I…" Law started but Sanji shook his head, because he wasn't going to listen to the other man's excuses anymore.

"You're worried about how long you have to live. You're worried about how people who get close to you usually seem to end up. You feel guilty being too happy because for some fucked up reason you think you don't have a right to be. I've heard it a million times," Sanji knew he was being harsh, and he knew that Law _did _have legitimate concerns, but until he worked those out for himself Sanji couldn't do anything more to help him than what he'd already said and done.

He'd been the same way for a long time, after all, and he _still _probably was, in a way, but he was managing with his own self-worth issues a _lot _better than Law was at the moment.

"So where does that leave us? I can't change overnight when I've had almost twenty years of…" he stopped, heaving an exasperated sigh, but his lack of a snappy comeback meant that Sanji was probably right in his assessment of everything.

"I don't know," Sanji admitted honestly. "I just know that I can't do this anymore, and knowing that all you're doing over and over again is avoiding me…that you're in contact with people close to me but you never actually talk to _me…_you've gotta realize how that would look to me."

"Like I don't trust you," Law admitted, and Sanji nodded.

"I've given you everything I fucking can," Sanji wrapped his arms around himself. "And I've told you before that I don't need to hear all of your secrets. I just need to believe that _you _believe you can trust me…hell, trust _both _of us…to not abandon you if things ever get a little rough, and right now I'm not seeing any proof of that since _I'm _always the one having to find _you," _he finished, hearing Law shift beside him, but the other man didn't say anything and Sanji guessed that was probably his answer.

"Look, we'll take off as soon as Gin gets back, okay? So one more-" he cut off when Law grabbed him from behind, holding him almost desperately. He was breathing harshly, like he was trying to hold back some sort of overwhelming emotion, and Sanji grit his teeth around the cigarette and forced himself to feel nothing even though his Haki was screaming at him from the utterly panicked aura Law was giving off.

Because Law was _scared. _

Of what, Sanji didn't exactly know, but it was undeniable and until Law figured it out for himself he would never be able to fully trust anybody else.

And that was one thing Sanji couldn't help him with.

"Let go of me," he said, as steadily as he could, and Law listened immediately. "I'll be…I'm just gonna…" Sanji pointed, not meeting Law's eyes (and _speaking _of being a coward, he thought grimly), and brushed past him into the cabin.

He practically ran over to the chair where Zoro was, curling up beside him and being beyond thankful when Zoro didn't ask questions (but then, he could probably sense himself what sort of emotions the blond was feeling, and he knew how Sanji had felt so long ago after Dressrosa so seeing the others here today would have been enough for him to figure out why Sanji and Law had been distant all day).

"You wanna leave?" Zoro asked quietly and Sanji shook his head.

"We can't until Gin gets back, anyway, and…I'm not…you two have your own relationship," he finished, although the thought of Zoro picking Law over him made it feel like there was a knife twisting in his gut.

"Yeah, but he's obviously being an ass about this and if he can't see how much he's hurting you…" Zoro sighed, leaning his head against Sanji's and holding him tighter. "I know enough about his life to know that he's got a reason to be the way he is, but if he's not willing to change no matter how much either of us try to convince him that we're not going anywhere, that's on him."

Sanji nodded, burrowing his way under Zoro's arm and reaching to drop his cigarette into a half-full glass of water on the end table, watching until it was fully extinguished.

Something about the sparks weakly sputtering into nothingness right in front of his eyes was hitting a little too close to home.

000

They both must have dozed off because what woke Sanji up was a soft rustling on the rug and the feeling of a plush blanket being draped over them.

He tried to keep his breathing even, giving off the illusion of sleep, and for the longest time there was only silence before he felt a hand stroke gently through his hair.

Fuck, he couldn't let it end like this, but this time he wasn't going to give in.

This time, it was all up to Law, and Sanji just had to trust – and ha, there was that word again - that he'd make the right choice.

He heard Law sigh heavily and Sanji reached out cautiously with his Haki, trying to get any hint as to where the other man's head was at.

He could sense remorse, and guilt, and that permanently deep-seated anger that, even after all these years, still seemed to taint everything else that Law felt.

At this point, it would probably never go away, but Sanji could deal with that as long as Law didn't let it take him over again.

Law's hand stilled, thumb stroking over Sanji's neck, before he pulled away and the sound of his footsteps grew quieter.

Sanji physically had to stop himself from running after him because his body was damn near _screaming_ at him to, but if this ended the way he thought it would those urges would have to be quelled soon enough anyway.

…No. He couldn't think like that.

Law would do the right thing.

He had to.

Because if he didn't, it was going to fucking _shatter _him, and Sanji knew somewhere deep inside that none of them would ever be able to fully recover from it.

He pressed his nose against Zoro's neck, feeling the other man's arms tighten around him, and knew with an even greater certainty that no matter what Law decided, he and Zoro would be fine.

They'd both be happier with Law, of course (though Zoro would never admit that), and they'd always feel a little incomplete because of the shadow of what could have been hanging over them, but they'd be _fine. _

But this was the turning point, and whatever the way ahead would bring, whether Law was with them or not, he knew one thing was certain:

This time, there was no going back.

**Notes:**

**1\. **…I have no idea where this came from because I hadn't intended things to get this angsty, but looking at the progression of the story it was probably a long time coming…

**2\. **Thank you all, as always, for the continued reviews and comments, they mean a lot to me!


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 10/?  
**Word Count:** 4005  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Ten**

He didn't know where Law slept that night.

The other man had headed into the bedroom, grabbed a hooded sweatshirt, and left the cabin even before Sanji had made dinner.

It was for the best since it meant things weren't as awkward, but Zoro probably ate food he wasn't supposed to because Law wasn't there to monitor him.

He didn't get sick from it, thankfully, and Sanji could tell that he was as conflicted about everything as Sanji himself was.

They went to bed shortly after that. Law still hadn't returned, but Sanji knew he couldn't go looking for him.

If Law was so hell-bent on taking care of himself without ever trusting anybody to help him, so be it.

Still, sleep was hard to come by, and he lay there staring into the darkness for far too long until Zoro heaved a sigh and pulled him closer.

"Look," he murmured, the even tone of his voice relaxing Sanji a little. "Law's a smart guy, and it's not gonna take him long to figure out what both of us already know."

"I'm just worried that if he hasn't figured it out by _now…" _Sanji shrugged, leaning in to kiss the other man. "I don't want to lose him again, but if he's just going to keep running away, it's easier to let him go."

"We're not gonna lose him," Zoro growled, looking utterly serious, and Sanji wished he could have as much faith in Law as Zoro did. "Just give him a chance, Cook. He'll come around."

Sanji shrugged, because he couldn't agree when he didn't feel the same. He was grateful that Zoro was trying to boost his morale about the whole thing, but history had a tendency to repeat itself, after all, and history wasn't on his side in this case.

"Get some sleep. He'll be back before morning," Zoro sounded completely sure, and while Sanji didn't know how he could be, he tried to force himself to feel a little of the other man's optimism.

It must have worked, because eventually he fell asleep, and when he opened his eyes next there was morning sunlight streaming in through the windows.

He carefully slid out of bed, trying not to wake Zoro. The other man merely snuffled and latched onto the pillow he'd been lying on, snoring the whole while, so he guessed that meant he'd succeeded.

Well, today was the day. Gin would be back at some point with the requested supplies and then as long as Law gave Zoro the go-ahead to travel, they'd be off.

He walked into the living room, stopping when he saw Law sleeping on the couch. Or, well, attempting to sleep, as the case may have been, since he didn't look comfortable.

His hair was wet and his pullover had been discarded over a kitchen chair, presumably to dry, but when Sanji came closer he could see that the other man was shivering so violently his teeth were starting to chatter.

He didn't care, he reminded himself firmly. Law had gotten himself into this mess and if it had been raining overnight he could have easily come home instead of being stubborn.

He didn't care. He didn't care. He didn't…

Ah, fuck it, he decided, because his heart was too weak to be able to ignore somebody needing help. Before he could stop himself he'd grabbed the blanket Law had gotten for them the day before and crawled onto the sofa beside him, wrapping the blanket around them both and pulling Law half on top of him.

He was freezing, his skin ice-cold under Sanji's fingertips. The blond stroked his hands over any exposed skin he could reach, telling himself it was just because he didn't want Law to get sick.

Law blinked fuzzily at him, tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes.

"Hey," Sanji murmured, letting his hands rest on Law's back and watching him carefully. "You're such a fucking idiot, you know that?"

Law tried to answer, though he was still shivering too severely to form words, and Sanji sighed.

"This doesn't change anything, okay? I just don't want you to die on me. You look like a drowned rat," he grunted, trying to keep his voice as cold as possible. Law nodded and wrapped his arms around Sanji's waist, hugging him tightly, and Sanji was powerless to push him away. "We'll get out of your hair as soon as Gin gets here, and then you never have to see us again," he added. It was cruel, but maybe if the threat of them leaving for good was real, Law might come to his decision a little faster.

Law was still shaking, and it was getting worse if anything, so Sanji went back to petting him, hands trailing over his back and shoulders.

"I'm not going anywhere right _now," _he promised. "Just…try to get some sleep."

"I can't," Law finally forced out, and Sanji glared at him.

"Yes, you can, just…"

"No, I _can't," _Law stressed, his eyes haunted, and Sanji felt his heart sink, because if that was his answer…

"Fine. Enjoy your fucking life, then," he tried to get away but Law was clinging to him like some sort of leech and he gave up pretty quickly. "I'm serious, Trafalgar, let me go."

Law pulled back enough that Sanji could slide out, and he stomped back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

He leaned back against the closed door, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands and feeling his throat tighten.

That was it, then.

It was over.

000

"He's scared."

Sanji was about to say something derisive, but since he'd come to the same conclusion the day before, he couldn't bring himself to be flippant about it.

"Of what?" he asked instead. That was what he was still trying to figure out, after all, so any insight would be really fucking appreciated.

Gin shrugged, kicking at some rocks littering the sandy beach, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He'd returned about mid-morning with the supplies and had immediately picked up on the strange tension, especially because as soon as he'd walked in the door Law had grabbed his still-wet hoodie and taken off again.

"Dunno. You know him way better than I do," he pointed out. "But he's acting…the way I did the first time I met you," he started slowly. Sanji glanced at him, more than a little confused as to how Gin was drawing parallels to that particular situation. "He wants something really desperately but he's too afraid to go after it."

"So what did you want?" he asked, crossing his arms and staring out at the ocean.

"To go to the Grand Line," Gin stepped up beside him, nudging him gently with his elbow. "I wanted it more than anything, and my very narrow world experience made me believe that Don Krieg was a man that nobody would ever be able to touch. When our entire fleet got destroyed by one man…it was fucking terrifying, because if _one man _could do that, what could the great fleets of the Pirate Emperors do? We would have been slaughtered before even launching an attack," he shivered, and Sanji had to hide his smile because he _did _remember that.

Yeah, Mihawk was intimidating, but Sanji was hardly afraid of him anymore…in fact, he'd come to think of him as more of a surly uncle than anything, and ever since Zoro had taken his position he'd show up at the restaurant periodically to frighten the customers and 'check in on how the boy is doing, you know, because if he's not living up to his potential I'll gladly defeat him and reclaim my title.'

Sanji could tell it annoyed Zoro, but it did keep him on his toes, and he always trained extra hard in the days after Mihawk made an appearance.

"So how did you get over it? I mean, obviously you're here," Sanji smiled at him, and he was very glad that Gin was.

"It came down to whether my fear was greater than my desire, I guess," Gin replied, but from the look on his face he was still trying to figure it out for himself. "I knew I'd regret it forever if I let one bad experience dictate my entire life, and it wouldn't be much of a life at all if all I'd ever do was sit there wondering 'what if.'"

And yeah, Sanji could see how Gin would relate that to what Law was going through, because while Law's situation was a bit more about personal happiness than actual life and death, the principles were similar enough.

"So he's gotta figure out if whatever's stopping him from being honest with me is more important than…"

"Being with you. Yeah," Gin wrapped an arm around his shoulders and Sanji leaned into him, grateful beyond words that Gin was taking everything as well as he had. The rest of his crew he'd expected it from, since he'd known them all well enough before the whole thing with Law had started, but Gin was much more of a casual acquaintance. "I…" he stopped, patting Sanji's arm. "Look, I don't know him that well, and I'm still kind of scared of him, but when he was with you, he just looked…human," he said slowly, as if he were afraid he was digging into something too personal.

He wondered if Gin realized just how big a deal that _was_, though. Law was entirely about fronts and giving off a certain image, and if he dropped that enough around Sanji that even relative strangers were noticing…

Fuck, maybe he _did_ trust him after all, even if he was really fucking bad at showing it.

"You two have something special, I…" Gin trailed off as the sound of boots crunching on the rocky shore came from behind them, and while Sanji knew it was Law just from how his presence felt, Gin had to turn around. "Holy shit."

"What…" Sanji turned as well, blinking, and he saw what had startled Gin. Law still had the wet hoodie draped over his shoulder, but he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt underneath and he must have been back to the cabin in the meantime because his prosthetic arm was gone.

And yeah, to somebody who hadn't known, it would have been startling since Law hid it really, really well most of the time that one of his arms wasn't flesh and bone.

Law shifted from foot-to-foot, looking decidedly uneasy, and Gin was still watching him with wide eyes before he stepped aside. "I'll give you guys…yeah…I'll see you later," he patted Sanji's back before heading back toward the path leading up to the cabin, and Law watched him go impassively until he was well out of earshot.

Sanji turned back to the sea and waited for Law to step up beside him, his palms starting to sweat a little.

The next few minutes would change everything, and in that moment he could only hope that Law had found a way, just like Gin, to face his fears and win.

000

"I thought you might have left."

It had taken Law far too long to even say that much, and that he was trying to change the subject instead of addressing what needed to be said was hardly making Sanji's irritation with him diminish.

"I'm not _that _cruel," the cook replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring out at the choppy waves. The day was reflective of his mood, gray and bleak, and the wind was starting to pick up enough that the normally calm bay in front of them was becoming rough.

Law rubbed at the stump of his arm with his left hand, frowning, and Sanji could tell that he _had _expected the other men to just…leave him there alone.

His anger flared up again at that, because once again it was Law not trusting them, and that was what had started this whole thing, after all.

Except…

He frowned, because between the conversation with Gin and his own thoughts, he was beginning to see that maybe all of this had less to do with Law not trusting them and far more to do with Law's seemingly complete absence of self-worth.

Sanji could understand that much of it, because sometimes he still felt the exact same way. There'd been so many times he'd been honestly amazed that his crewmates would try to save him, and it wasn't because he thought they were incapable of it, but because he somehow felt he didn't _deserve _it. If that truly was what was holding Law back…

Sanji blinked, because suddenly all of the pieces fell into place and he _understood: _he'd been looking at it backwards all along.

Really, Sanji should have seen it sooner, since he knew Law well enough by now. The other man was an expert at pushing people away, but in this case Sanji was willing to bet everything he had that it wasn't what he'd truly _wanted _to do. His own ingrained sense of self-preservation might have advised it, and that probably had no small part in everything as well, but more than that it still came down to Law somehow thinking he was unworthy of them.

Law seemingly not willing to trust that they'd never let him down had less to do with them and more to do with Law not letting _anybody _get too close, both because he was afraid of losing them and because, somewhere in his mind, he was convinced that even if that didn't happen they'd eventually leave him anyway.

He reached out, his hand brushing Law's, and the other man heaved a shuddery breath before moving closer.

"Zoro may or may not have told me to get my shit together," Law replied and Sanji snorted, not even angry at Zoro for interfering this time around. "And I'm afraid my answer is the same as it was before."

"Yeah. I figured so," Sanji laced his fingers with Law's, holding his hand tightly. "Fuck, you're a piece of work, Trafalgar."

"I'm well aware," Law's voice sounded tight, like he was on the verge of breaking down. "When are you leaving?"

Sanji shifted his body closer still, leaning against Law's chest. Law slid his fingers out from Sanji's, hesitantly laying his arm over the short man's shoulders. "I don't know," he said honestly, because everything hinged on the next few seconds. "Are you that eager to get rid of me?"

Law let out a choked little sob that said far more than words ever could, and Sanji turned his nose against Law's collar, breathing him in.

It was now or never.

"Just…tell me one thing, okay? I don't need promises or anything, because I don't want to make you feel pressured to live up to that, but…" he frowned, trying to figure out the best way to word what he was going to say next.

"I can't ever be who you want me to be," Law said, speaking before he had a chance to collect his thoughts.

Sanji tried not to snort, because he knew Law was serious even though the idea was laughable. "Yeah?" he asked instead. "What do you think I want you to be? Did you forget the first guy I ever fell in love with waves pointy sticks around, showers once a week, and has the emotional range of a goldfish most of the time?"

Law barked a laugh, his eyes widening like he was surprised he _could _still laugh, and then he pulled Sanji in tighter and buried his nose in the blond's hair.

"I just want you to be yourself, because you're fucking beautiful, and I've told you before but I need to convince you that we're not gonna just abandon you for no reason. Whatever the future's got in store for us, I'd rather spend it with both of you for as long as I can," he tried to put as much conviction into his voice as he could muster though he meant every word, and he heard Law sigh heavily.

"I can do that," he finally whispered. "I just can't promise that I won't have times when I…"

"It'd be kinda hypocritical to ask you to promise that when I can't, either," Sanji knew he still got down on himself, after all, but having people around that would support him no matter what had always helped. Law, in comparison, had spent far too many years pushing that kind of comfort away instead of taking strength from it.

And that was the biggest thing that needed to change.

"Okay," Law sounded defeated, but Sanji hoped that wasn't a bad thing this time. "I'm a fucking mess, you know."

"Yeah, well, like I've told you, you haven't scared me off yet," he reached to loop one arm around Law's neck, leaning back against his shoulder. "Why'd you take your arm off?"

"Because, with you, I don't need to pretend," Law murmured. "I can't be imperfect in the eyes of the world, but you two…"

Sanji felt his heart clench and turned around, reaching to cup Law's face and drawing him into a slow kiss. He could feel the other man relax, the tension draining from his body.

The blond pulled back before they could get too carried away, but there was still something haunted in Law's eyes that he didn't like. "You deserve to be happy, okay? I know you don't believe that, but we _all_ fucking deserve to be happy."

"Sanji, I…"

Sanji felt a sudden burst of fear that Law was going to let him down again, that it still hadn't been enough, but Law just wrapped his arm around Sanji's body and pulled him in tight, clinging to him like a frightened child.

"I can't say anything to you I haven't said a hundred damn times already," Sanji told him, keeping his voice calm. "And I don't know what else I _can _say to make you believe me."

"As I told you the other night, my heart believes you implicitly, and my brain…which is what I've been trusting to keep me alive for the past twenty years…is telling me that it's not a chance I can take. And, as much as I hate it, at the moment it's very, very hard to go against what most of my common sense is telling me is a bad idea," he echoed Sanji's earlier thoughts almost perfectly and Sanji was rather happy he'd been right about all of that.

"How much convincing does your brain need?" Sanji asked, raising an eyebrow and sliding his hands under the back of Law's shirt. The other man started shivering again, although whether it was from the touch or because he was still chilled Sanji couldn't say. "So is that your answer?"

"My…" Law groaned, pressing his lips to Sanji's temple. "Yes. Fuck. Yes. I'd be the world's biggest idiot to let either of you go, and especially over something as selfish as my own insecurities. I hope you can still accept…"

Sanji cut him off with a much more desperate kiss, not holding anything back this time around. He still couldn't be sure Law wouldn't let him down again, and he knew things wouldn't be easy, but now that he was completely sure what Law's feelings were he'd try not to take any personal offense to some of the things the surgeon was still bound to do and say.

It was a small comfort, maybe, but hopefully in time it could be something that would disappear entirely.

"Let's go back," Sanji murmured. "You need a warm bath and a cup of tea and…" he sighed, glancing up at the sky, and Law chuckled.

"Body heat?"

"Mm," Sanji agreed, because sometimes it still amazed him how much Law and Zoro seemed to enjoy the whole cuddling thing. He was glad, because having a relationship where they were afraid to touch each other would have been shitty, but it probably wasn't something either of them wanted to advertise much.

"I thought I was the doctor here."

"You're damn awful at taking care of yourself," Sanji held out his hand and Law took it instantly, letting Sanji lead him back to the path leading up toward his cabin.

Zoro looked up from his spot on the couch when they entered. Sanji was glad that for once he'd decided to listen to medical advice because the cook had half-expected him to try and make it down the rather steep hill to the beach and that could have only ended badly.

"So," he started, sitting up and raising an eyebrow. "You two kissed and made up yet?"

"I suppose you could say that," Law sighed and shivered again, and Sanji nosed at his shoulder.

"Take your shirt off, already," he tugged at the bottom of Law's t-shirt and the other man turned to him with a half-teasing smile.

"Is now really the time?"

"Asshole," Sanji replied, helping Law to get it off and tossing it over one of the kitchen chairs. "I'll…you don't have a bathtub, do you," he realized, because while a hot bath would do Law a world of good, it wasn't something he could do by himself and Sanji reasoned that he wouldn't have seen the need for one because of it.

"No, I'd rather not risk drowning myself just trying to get clean," Law went to cross his arms and then realized he was still missing his prosthetic, his real hand hovering awkwardly. "I'll be right back," he announced, heading for the bedroom, and Sanji went to flop on the couch beside Zoro, leaning against him and reaching to rub his temples.

"You look tired," Zoro mentioned, looping his arm around the blond and pulling him close.

"You should know how exhausting dealing with him can be," Sanji muttered, yawning as if to emphasize his point even more.

"But you worked things out?" Zoro looked…hopeful, Sanji realized, and that more than anything told him that he'd also been afraid of losing Law entirely.

"I think so. I mean…"

"Yeah," Zoro agreed with a sigh, because with Law, it was hard to say anything was ever _completely_ worked out. "Well, good."

"You were worried, weren't you?" Sanji knew Zoro was, even if he'd put on a front of being completely certain Law would come around. "You're not fooling me, Marimo."

"He's a good guy to have around," Zoro muttered, predictably downplaying his feelings. "But…yeah. I'd rather have him around than not, I guess."

"Hmm," Sanji leaned in to kiss him, letting his eyes flutter closed as Zoro's arms came around him more firmly. He only broke away when he heard Law shuffle back into the room.

"So. I'll get that tea…"

"No," Law shook his head, and he was biting his lower lip and looking rather determined. "First I just want…" he stopped, shivering again.

Of course. Even at this point, Law wasn't going to _ask _to be held.

"C'mere," he reached out a hand and Law took it, letting himself be drawn down onto the sofa.

It was a tight fit with the three of them, but somehow they managed, limbs thrown everywhere as Law made sure Zoro wasn't in any pain since he was mostly supporting both of them.

"I'm _fine,_" Zoro rolled his eyes. "And you made the right choice."

"That remains to be seen," Law gave them a thin smile. "But it's…it's one I won't regret," he decided, tucking his head onto Zoro's shoulder and draping his real arm around Sanji's waist. "I know that much."

"We'll make sure you don't," Zoro promised, rubbing Law's back.

Maybe it wasn't perfect, Sanji thought, but by now he'd realized things were probably never going to be perfect with all of them.

Still, as long as they had each other, he knew that somehow they'd always be okay.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I'm sure you all knew I couldn't leave them be unhappy for too long! And while of course things aren't fully solved yet, they're definitely getting better. Law's somebody that has a _lot _of emotional trauma in his past and that's not something that's going to disappear overnight, and probably won't ever disappear completely, but I hope his progression throughout these fics is at least somewhat realistic in terms of getting him to open up and allow other people into his life.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 11/?  
**Word Count:** 3273  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Eleven**

"Where are you going?"

Sanji looked down to where Law's hand was gripping his wrist and sighed, trying to wriggle his arm free.

"I still want you to drink that tea…"

"Later," Law pulled him back. "I will, since I know you won't stop badgering me about it until I do, but later."

Sanji sighed and rolled his eyes, but he did lie back down. Law curled as close as he could, eyes closed and a tiny smile on his lips, and Sanji knew he wasn't going anywhere for a while. He raised a hand to stroke through Law's hair, hearing the other man sigh happily, and wondered absently _why _Law would have ever considered denying himself this when it was obvious how much he enjoyed it.

"You really love this, don't you?" he asked softly, getting a hum in return. "Law…"

"I do," Law shrugged, like he was tired of trying to pretend otherwise. "Of course I do. I can't even articulate how terrified I was of losing it."

"But you're so damn stubborn you still would have taken that risk, huh?" Zoro's voice rumbled from behind them and Sanji glanced up, not realizing the swordsman was still awake. "Seriously, I've dealt with a lot of bull-headed people, but you're one of the worst," he sniffed.

Law didn't reply, seemingly not offended by the words, but he did curl closer and bury his nose against Sanji's neck. His breathing was harsh and ragged, and Sanji stroked his back, trying to calm him down.

"Hey," Zoro mumbled, resting his hand on Law's shoulder. "Just…you know, we're not running scared."

"I know," Law said, his voice choked. "I do. I…" he paused, and Sanji felt his body shudder. "I still feel I need to prove to both of you that I trust you, and I want to…have you ever heard of the concept of a taboo name?"

Sanji frowned, because that was a random question.

"Kind of," Zoro answered slowly. "It wasn't really a thing in the dojo I was at, but I know some samurai still follow the idea that it was somebody's 'true name' and it was supposed to hold the essence or spirit of that person, right? And that nobody was supposed to know it because they could use it against them."

Sanji looked between them, because he'd never really heard of that, but he guessed it made sense. It seemed rather archaic, but still…

"Yes, essentially. Well, my family had been using the idea for generations and while I don't put much stock into the whole idea, it's what my parents wanted so for the most part I've honored their wishes. So my true name, it's not something I advertise very often, and I haven't spoken it aloud in almost twenty years, but…"

"No," Sanji said, because he knew where this was going. "You don't have to tell us."

"But…" Law started and Sanji shook his head, pressing his lips to the other man's forehead.

"It's enough that you want to tell us. If it's a family thing, don't break that for us," he said firmly, and Zoro grunted in agreement.

"I already broke it several years ago as a child, but…" Law sighed. "Okay. It's up to you."

"So that means Law isn't your real name, right?" Zoro asked. "But you're okay with us calling you that?"

"As I said, I don't particularly believe in the old traditions, so I do consider it my name," he replied, and Sanji supposed that made sense. Knowing Law had _another _name was kind of hard to comprehend, though, since he didn't even have a family name that he knew of. He'd just been 'Sanji' for his entire life, and he wondered sometimes who had seen him and decided to name him 'tragedy' because it was kind of a shitty thing to burden a kid with. "I do have…one other thing to tell both of you, though. My secret name," he smiled rather wryly and Sanji wondered what he was talking about now.

"What's a secret name?" Zoro frowned.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I mean, my parents seemed to want to keep it a secret, but I've met quite a few other people since have the same name and are proud of it, so perhaps it's completely subjective as to whether or not one prefers to keep it secret. I do, however, bear the same…initial as your captain," he murmured, and Sanji blinked at him before realizing what he meant.

"You mean the D. thing?" he asked, and while he knew that everybody in Luffy's family had it, it didn't really mean much to him otherwise. "Is it important?"

"People seem to think so," Law replied vaguely, cuddling even closer. "Cora-san thought it might have something to do with being the sworn enemies of the Tenryuubito, but even he wasn't entirely sure. The only thing that seems to be known is that people with it generally end up impacting the world in a big way," he explained, which wasn't all that helpful, but in any case it hardly affected how Sanji saw Law.

"Wait, does that mean you're related to Luffy?" he sat up a little, grinning, and the look of utter horror on Law's face was exactly what he'd expected.

"_No, _Heaven forbid," Law shivered. "That is, I suppose it's possible we're very, very distantly related, but…"

"You guys have a lot of things in common," Zoro mentioned and Law groaned loudly and rolled his eyes. "Hey, he's not the worst guy to be related to."

"No, of course not," Law tugged Sanji back down and nuzzled into his neck. Sanji could tell he still wasn't completely back to normal, because even in his lowest moments he wasn't _that _desperate for human touch, but right then he wasn't sure what to do to reassure Law that he wasn't going to lose them. "I think I'll…I should take a hot shower, at least," he mumbled, sitting up and sighing.

Sanji leaned forward to press a kiss to the back of his neck, wrapping his arms around the surgeon's waist. "Hey. I love you, okay?"

"I know," Law sighed, patting his hand. He stood up, stretching his arms over his head, and didn't look back as he headed into his bedroom.

Sanji sighed, leaning back against Zoro and frowning after the other man.

Of course, he hadn't just expected Law to magically be okay just because they'd worked _this _particular thing out, but the other man was so damn hot and cold that sometimes Sanji didn't know _what _to do to make him feel better.

"Just give him some space," Zoro hooked his chin over Sanji's shoulder. "I think he really had convinced himself we were gonna leave him forever…and maybe he was even trying to tell himself he'd be okay with it."

"He's so fucking exhausting," Sanji rubbed his temples, feeling immediately comforted when Zoro reached out with the most calming aura he could muster up. Sanji breathed out slowly and leaned back against him, letting it wash over him and feeling the irritation fade away just as quickly as it had flared up.

"Hey, it's not your fault if after all of this he _still _thinks we're just gonna run away," Zoro murmured, his voice even.

"I know," Sanji promised him. "But I still want to…" he frowned, because he wasn't sure _what _he wanted. To convince Law they were there for the long haul, he supposed, even though obviously words weren't enough. Law had shown how much he trusted _them _today, but Sanji didn't know how to return the favor in a way that would make Law finally,_ finally_ stop doubting how they felt.

"So do something else," Zoro suggested, and Sanji looked back to glare at him.

"What? I don't have anything else to give him," he frowned, even though there was _one _thing.

Still, using sex to…what? Prove a point? Didn't seem like the healthiest thing to do, although he had to admit it wasn't as if anything about their relationship was _conventional. _Plus, it had been something he'd kind of wanted to do for five years, so maybe it was time he finally got around to that.

"Knew you'd think of something," Zoro chuckled and Sanji turned around, leaning in to kiss him. Yeah, Zoro could still get on every single last nerve he had, but having somebody that knew him so well…that knew every little nuance of his mood and emotions and was so in-tune with his body…it was a blessing.

Certainly not anything he'd have expected to find in _Zoro, _of all people, but appreciated nonetheless.

"Now go suck his dick," Zoro growled in his ear and Sanji smacked his thigh, wanting to berate him for being so crude but…

But, well, it was what he was planning, after all.

"Hey, go move to the chair," he mumbled and Zoro raised an eyebrow, looking confused. "What, you don't think you're just going to _watch _again, do you?" he replied, getting a predatory grin in return, and he let Zoro make his way over there as he headed into the bedroom.

Law was out of the shower when he stepped into the bathroom, staring into the mirror with his hands resting on the counter and a somewhat pained expression on his face.

"Hey," Sanji leaned his hip against the doorframe, smiling a little when Law quickly turned to look at him. "C'mere."

"I'm not quite sure…mm…" Law's resistance melted away remarkably quickly when Sanji tugged at his wrist, pulling him closer and wrapping his arms around the taller man. "I'm being an asshole again."

"No, you're doing what you've done your entire life and keeping your heart safe," Sanji replied, because that's what it all boiled down to in the end. "And I'm not going to blame you for that, but right now…" he took a deep breath.

Yeah, he'd wanted to do this for a long time, but he was still a little concerned he was going to be shit at it and that's the last thing he wanted.

Law's skin was still damp under his fingertips, smooth and warm. He let his hand trail down Law's chest and over his stomach, resting his palm right above the other man's cock.

"Sanji…" Law's voice was starting to get rough in the way that only arousal could produce, and he swallowed heavily. "I…"

"I want to suck you off. Can I?" Sanji kind of blurted the words out and they were hardly the sultry proposition he'd intended, but he could feel the muscles in Law's stomach twitch under his hand and knew he'd gotten the desired response anyway.

"Well, I'm hardly going to turn that down," Law shivered a little and closed his eyes, looking like he was deep in thought.

"Hey," Sanji said, a little more firmly, and Law blinked at him. "No thinking. Just enjoy this," he pulled on Law's wrist to lead him out of the bedroom, and Law glanced rather furtively around as if he was afraid somebody was going to be lurking in his own home. "It's just us."

"Yeah, so get over here," Zoro grunted and Law looked up, his posture loosening a little. He stepped away from Sanji and walked over to the chair where Zoro was sitting, looking decidedly unimpressed when the swordsman decided to yank him off-balance and into his lap.

Sanji watched them kiss for a while, smiling to himself. Zoro prompted Law to turn around, spreading his legs so that the other man could sit between them, and pulled him back to rest against his chest. His mouth closed over the lobe of the other man's ear, covering his earrings, and Law let out a tiny gasp and reached back to grip Zoro's knees, fingers clenching in the fabric of his pants.

His cock was definitely starting to take interest now. Sanji hung back and watched Zoro work him to full arousal, growling around his earrings and running his sword-hilt callused hands down Law's chest, rough over his nipples and flat stomach.

Law whined, low in his throat, mouth hanging open and eyes half-closed. His chest was starting to flush, a rosy hue that was mirrored on the head of his now-erect cock, and Sanji couldn't hold himself back anymore.

He quickly crossed the floor and dropped to his knees on the plush rug. Law spread his legs obligingly, his eyes dark with lust as he stared down at Sanji.

"You don't have to…"

"Hush," Sanji nipped at the soft skin on the inside of Law's knee, getting a tiny whine in return. "I want to."

"You're the first person he's ever offered to do this for, you know, so I wouldn't be turning him down," Zoro kept his hands moving, running lightly over Law's chest and down to his hips, and Law took a shuddery breath before nodding.

"If you're su-"

He cut off with another choked-off gasp when Sanji leaned forward, tongue darting out to lick a bead of pre-cum from the head of Law's cock. The taste was familiar to him by now, though it had been years, but he was most worried about the fact that he probably couldn't deep-throat Law the way that Zoro could.

He wanted this to be good, after all.

Law's real hand settled on his head, fingers stroking through the golden strands of hair, and Sanji told himself to stop being such a coward about everything and just go for it.

He wrapped his lips around the very head of Law's cock, breathing out slowly through his nose and getting used to the feel and weight of him on his tongue. One hand came up to fist around the base as he slid his mouth on further, trying to open his throat and not trigger his gag reflex.

That would kind of ruin the mood.

It felt…strange more than anything, his mouth filled in a way that seemed entirely unnatural, lips stretched wide. Law groaned softly, his fingers tightening in Sanji's hair, and he figured that meant he was doing at least _something _right.

He slid his lips down as far as he could, until he felt Law's cock nudge the back of his throat. It wasn't as deep as Zoro could go, maybe, but he didn't think he was doing _too _badly. Pulling back a little, he sucked on the tip of the other man's cock again, running his tongue over the leaking slit.

"Fuck," Law whispered, his body shuddering. Sanji kept exploring with his tongue, sliding his mouth down further again and humming. Maybe he couldn't talk with a cock in his mouth, but it was the next best thing, and the noise Law made after that only confirmed his thoughts.

"Hmm, you're making me jealous," Zoro rumbled, his voice deep and full of arousal (obviously the painkillers had finally worn off). Sanji pulled off, keeping his hand moving over Law's spit-slick arousal and stroking slow enough to be utterly teasing.

"Wait your turn, Marimo," he looked up, grinning. He kept his hand moving, just enough pressure for Law to feel it.

"I think he likes it," Zoro mentioned idly, thumbs brushing over Law's nipples again and making his cock twitch in Sanji's hand. Law looked completely blissed out, eyes half-open and glazed, taking shuddery breaths in time with Sanji's strokes.

"Good," Sanji kissed the tip of Law's cock, slipping his mouth over it again and sucking while he started to move his hand faster.

He kept up the rhythm once he'd found one that worked, mouth sliding down as far as he could before pulling off almost all the way, and Law's fingers gripped his hair almost desperately. He could feel the other man's body tense, the muscles of his stomach tightening.

"No. Don't come yet," Zoro breathed into his ear. Sanji looked up at him, inwardly pleased that Zoro was taking over what he couldn't do with his mouth full.

"Shit…" Law gasped. "Fuck, I…"

"Don't," Zoro bit down on his shoulder and Law let out a sound that Sanji could only describe as a whimper, but it was incredibly hot.

Sanji kept up his pace, eventually pulling back so he was only sucking the tip and stroking his hand faster along the shaft. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. Law still smelled clean from the shower he'd just taken, with just a hint of his normal musk bleeding through as his arousal intensified.

"I…" Law swallowed heavily. "I can't…"

"Yes, you can," Zoro kissed his neck, dragging his tongue along the skin.

"Don't be mean, Marimo," Sanji breathed over Law's cock, making it twitch again. "I think he's done well."

"If you say so," Zoro shrugged, looking entirely unconcerned, but Sanji could feel the lust pouring off of him and it was making him heady.

Sanji bent down and went back to sucking, wrist flicking as fast as he could, and Zoro chuckled.

"What do you want, Doctor?" he murmured, and Sanji felt his own cock press rather insistently against the seam of his jeans, a reminder that he definitely wasn't unaffected by this either. "You want to come?"

"Hah…uh…" Law was definitely more…vocal than Sanji remembered, but it was really hot listening to him fall apart so he wasn't going to complain.

Still, it wasn't really an answer, and he was betting Zoro wasn't going to be content with that.

"Well?"

"Y-yes…" Law hissed. "Fuck…I need to…"

And Sanji felt something else from Zoro then, a type of smug satisfaction that told him he was about to enact some long-awaited payback.

Law had made him beg once, after all, so it was only fair he returned the favor.

"Need to what?" Zoro asked, sounding completely calm. "Ask nicely and I might let you."

Law growled, his expression turning feral and his eyes flashing, but Sanji knew he wouldn't put up too much of a fight. "I…please. I need to c-_ah!" _he gasped as Sanji sucked a little harder, groaning.

"Hmm. Not good enough," Zoro decided. Sanji tried to hide his amusement from Law because he had a feeling the surgeon was very much _not _amused, but it was kind of nice seeing him get a taste of his own medicine, as it were.

Law's cock was damn near leaking now, pre-cum filling Sanji's mouth, and he knew the other man was at his breaking point.

"Hah…please…I can't…_please," _Law's voice was shaking, higher-pitched than normal and Sanji could feel every muscle in his body tightening in an effort to hold off his release as long as possible. "Zoro…"

"Good boy," Zoro echoed the words Law had said to him, tightening his arms around the other man's stomach and holding his upper body steady. "Come."

Law's grip in his hair became almost painful as he did and Sanji swallowed, trying to take it all. Law's cock gave a final spasm before his body slumped back, still trembling a little. Sanji pulled off with a gasp, a tiny streak of cum slipping out of the corner of his mouth, and when Law yanked at his shoulder he lifted himself into the other man's lap and covered his mouth, letting Law taste himself on the blond's tongue.

"Law?" Zoro murmured, getting Law to glance at him.

"Yes?"

"We're not going anywhere. Not ever," he swore, and Law nodded.

"I know. Thank you," he gave Zoro a tiny smile before kissing Sanji again, wrapping him up tightly, and Sanji felt with more surety than ever before that, this time, Law finally believed them.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter! I got distracted with another Law/Sanji fic that you can find on my page. It's called 'Breaking the Silence' and, well, let's just say it was inspired by the fact that Law's VA has done voices for yaoi scenes before…

**2\. **The concept of taboo or true names is actually a real (though very outdated) tradition, and while I'm not sure if Oda's drawing exactly from real life with it by giving Law a 'taboo name', I thought it would fit well with the story as a way to show how much he does trust Sanji and Zoro. I do hope that Oda goes more into why exactly 'Water' is Law's 'taboo name,' though, and if it does mean the same thing as it did in feudal Japan.

**3\. **Thank as always for all of your reviews and comments! I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 12/?  
**Word Count:** 3861  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Twelve**

For once, it wasn't Law that said the wrong thing.

000

Zoro, it turned out, had still been feeling the effects of the painkillers and while Sanji could damn near taste the lust pouring off of him, apparently that didn't mean he could physically get hard yet. Law had told them rather sleepily that it should only be a couple of days before he'd be back to normal and Sanji had sighed and tried to will away his own arousal because with Zoro grumpy and Law half-asleep he was guessing he wouldn't get any help there.

He'd finally gone to make that tea, in part to take his mind off of his still=present erection, and when he wandered back into the living room Zoro and Law were curled up together, Law's naked body wrapped in a blanket.

Everything had been going well enough until Zoro had made a rather ill-timed quip about 'I guess you've just got a thing for guys with that D. in their name, huh?' and Sanji had been slammed with a ton of feelings and emotions he hadn't experienced in…fuck, had it been seven years already?

At any rate, Sanji only remembered muttering something along the lines of, "I told you not to talk about that," before heading out onto the balcony, lighting up his second cigarette of the past two days.

He'd smoked it about halfway before he heard the door open, and while he knew it was Law just from how the other man felt, he glanced over his shoulder anyway to see that Law had taken the time to shrug on a dry hoodie and a pair of sweatpants.

Law wandered up to stand beside him, staring down at the slate-grey ocean. The storm clouds were starting to clear a little as the sun began to set, but the air was still cold and damper than usual.

"You don't have to tell me," Law murmured after a few long moments of silence, and Sanji crushed the butt of his cigarette under his boot. "Obviously it's something that's…upsetting to you, so if talking about it is going to make things worse I don't want you to feel obligated."

"It's stupid," Sanji finally said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and narrowing his eyes at the turbulent waves.

It _was _stupid, probably. In the grand scheme of things he'd barely known the guy, and somebody like Luffy who'd known him almost his entire life didn't seem to dwell on his death the way Sanji did.

Yeah, Luffy had figured it out, somehow, and he'd sat down with Sanji in the kitchen one day and clasped his shoulder, giving Sanji one of the most serious looks he'd ever seen the young captain direct at him.

"I know what he wanted," he'd said, his voice steady. "He wanted to die with no regrets, and he wanted to…to know people loved him. He…he wouldn't want us to cry for him, and that's why I'm trying not to," he'd squeezed Sanji's shoulder gently and left after that, leaving the cook deep in his own thoughts.

He believed Luffy, and from what he knew of…_him…_he wouldn't have wanted people to think of him and be sad, but still…

"Sanji?"

"Sorry," Sanji shook his head, pulled back to the present. He kind of felt like he _should _tell Law, although Law was hardly the type of man to enjoy listening to somebody's sob stories, but at the same time he wasn't sure he could talk about it again.

It was something he tried to think of as little as possible, and for the longest time he'd thought he'd succeeded in blocking it from his memory entirely. Telling Zoro had been hard enough, but one night after a few too many glasses of sake he'd asked if there had been anybody else 'after that one random guy on the Baratie you told me about' and he'd just sort of…admitted to it.

Zoro had understood, and he didn't seem anything other than vaguely sympathetic (Sanji knew that Zoro had liked _him _too, for as little time as they'd spent with him), but now that the chance had come up again Sanji felt the need to be just as honest with Law as he had been with Zoro that night.

He felt Law's real hand come to rest in the small of his back. It was a gentle, grounding touch that bolstered his confidence, and he stood up a little taller and cleared his throat.

"He was Luffy's brother. Well, not his _actual _brother, but at the time we all thought he was," he started, and Law hummed thoughtfully. "We only spent about a week with him back when our paths crossed going across the Alabastan deserts, but he was flirting hard with me from pretty much the moment we met and I was just as taken with him, so…" he shrugged, knowing Law would get the general idea of what he was saying.

"Strawhat's brother," Law murmured, his fingers pressing a little harder on Sanji's coat. "The one that…when I saved him from Marineford…"

"Yeah. That brother," Sanji swallowed heavily, his voice tight.

"You slept with the Pirate King's son?"

Law sounded amused now and Sanji snorted, because he'd never really thought of him that way.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I had no idea at the time, he was just…Ace," he sighed, even saying the name making him flinch a little. Fuck, there was no way he should be this affected after all this time, and maybe if he was being honest it was part of the reason he was afraid of losing Law forever, because he obviously didn't handle loss well.

"Was he your first?" Law's voice was quiet, his hand still steady on Sanji's back, and the blond shrugged.

"Yes. I mean, I'd fooled around with people back at the restaurant, but it wasn't like I could take any of them up to my room with that shitty old man always watching," he smirked a little at the memory of his teenaged self being terrified of Zeff finding out he was having mutual jerking-off sessions with customers in the bathroom. "So that was the first time I'd done more than hand-jobs," he admitted, not really ashamed of talking about anything sexual with Law anymore.

"Did you love him?"

Law's voice was even softer now, like he didn't want to know the answer. Sanji sighed heavily, glancing sideways at Law before facing the sea again.

"I only knew him for about a week, and in the end we only spent one night together so…no, I wasn't in love with him," he replied honestly, and that was only the truth. "If we'd have had more time…I think I could have been, though."

"I see," Law's voice was completely dead and Sanji wasn't sure what he was supposed to say now.

"Was he…" Law sighed heavily. "This is a shitty thing to ask, but were he and I…"

"No. Fuck no," Sanji snorted. "No, you're nothing like him. He was…fire. Literally, of course, but he just…fucking lit up any room he entered. He had so much charm and he was always smiling, and he was the most polite guy I've ever met. He was just somebody that people loved because he had so much _life," _he had to stop himself because he was bringing back too many memories again, and the thought of somebody so vibrant and present being…dead…

Fuck.

"Luffy told me later that most of his confidence was a front and that in reality he'd always struggled with feeling like he didn't deserve to be alive and that he didn't think anybody could love him because of who his father was. He'd kind of opened up to me a little, but of course he didn't say _who _his father was, but…I guess finding out he felt as shitty about himself as I did most of the time made me realize that just because somebody _acts_ happy all the time doesn't mean they are. So I guess if he had anything in common with you…" he looked sideways and smiled sadly, but they all seemed to share that utter lack of self-worth.

"I see," Law didn't sound especially encouraged, but Sanji really couldn't say anything else.

"I think his death hit me so hard because…and this is gonna sound really fucking shitty considering what your life's been like…but he was the first person I cared about that I've ever lost. I mean, whoever my parents are or were, I never knew them, and Zeff's gonna be around forever, but until then death was something that other people had to deal with," he bit his lip, trying to force his emotions under control.

Law's arm wrapped around his shoulders now and he pulled Sanji closer, sticking his nose into the blond's hair and breathing out slowly.

"He was the first guy that actually made me feel like he was interested in _me, _and he offered to help around the ship and he always lit me cigarette for me," he mumbled into Law's shoulder, getting a tiny laugh in return.

"Offering to help in the kitchen and keeping your addiction fed? No wonder you fell for him," his voice didn't sound quite so melancholy now and Sanji appreciated the quip more than he could say.

"Yeah, I had no chance," Sanji nuzzled Law's neck, a fond smile on his lips now.

"Who knows," Law murmured, "maybe he's lighting Cora-san's cigarette up there right now. Maybe all they do is light things on fire and cause trouble," he sounded a little choked and Sanji hugged him back.

"I thought you didn't believe in the afterlife," he mentioned idly, getting a shrug.

"I don't, particularly. But it's…it's a nice thought, isn't it? That one day we'll get to see the ones we loved again."

Sanji nodded, because he could see why that would be so important to Law.

He knew he probably wouldn't talk about Ace again after today, and that he'd try to keep the memory as locked away as possible, but maybe now he could finally think back on that time a little more fondly.

"Thank you for telling me," Law finally said.

"Yeah," Sanji kissed his neck. "You've told me a hell of a lot about yourself and your past but I've never really returned the favor, and there's no reason for it anymore," he reached to grip Law's chin and pulled his head down for a kiss. "And I love you for who _you _are. Never forget that."

Law didn't answer, but his arms tightened around Sanji in response. He was too quiet, though, and Sanji could feel him radiating a mix of uncertainty and guilt, which wasn't sitting right with him.

"What is it?"

"You said he was the first to be interested in you because of who you are," Law started slowly, and Sanji narrowed his eyes. "I…"

And Sanji had a feeling he knew where this was going, and it wasn't something he wanted Law to dwell on because he _really _didn't have to.

"You only approached me because you thought I was hot. I know that. We both know that. When we started this…it was _supposed _to be just physical," he reminded the older man firmly. "It's not like I'm offended by flattery, you know," he half-closed his eyes, leaning his body more heavily against Law's.

"I'd guessed," Law's voice sounded dry. "Well, I suppose if it doesn't matter to you…"

"Fuck, you're impossible," Sanji grumbled, closing his eyes fully and breathing Law in. Law sighed and kissed the top of his head, tightening his arms even more. "No matter how we started out, it's where we are now that's important. And I don't regret a second of it, not even when you're being as stubborn as a fucking mule."

"I'm not right for you at all," Law murmured and Sanji bit his lip, hugging Law as tightly as he could.

"You're fucking perfect for me, okay? I know you don't believe it, and maybe you're never going to, but…" he moved his hands to cup Law's cheeks, forcing their eyes to meet, and this time he tried to channel _everything _he felt for Law into the most concentrated thought he possibly could.

Law's eyes narrowed a little and he blinked twice before his mouth dropped open and he gasped, his entire body shuddering.

"That's what I feel for you," Sanji promised. "So don't fucking believe anything but that."

"As…trite as this may be, considering that gesture, I can only use my words to tell you that I feel the same," Law kissed him then, almost desperately, and Sanji clutched at his shoulders to return it.

"Well, maybe if you won't believe _my _words, you'll believe my feelings," Sanji didn't really have anything else to give at that point. "I can't lie about those."

"I know," Law sounded tired. "I'm…I suppose in the end it all comes down to my own guilt knowing I'm making your life harder because I'm so fucked up and you're the one who has to deal with it all the time," he laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, that's something you need to stop," Sanji flicked his forehead and got a glare in return. "I thought we worked that out like two hours ago anyway."

"We did," Law shrugged. "In theory. It's apparently a bit harder to put into practice than I'd anticipated. As you said, though, I can hardly question your feelings or motivations any longer, and…"

He paused, his body slumping, and Sanji looked behind him to see Zoro standing in the doorway, one arm wrapped around his stomach and his free hand resting on the frame.

"I'm not as good with that kind of Haki as he is, but maybe that'll help convince you," he shrugged, and Sanji realized that he must have projected his own feelings toward Law as well.

"I'm convinced. I'm just a little overwhelmed," Law replied, standing up a little straighter. "I had no idea emotions could be so physically draining."

"Yeah, they are if you're not used to them," Sanji rubbed his back, and he could sympathize. He had enough control over his Haki that most of the time he could manage the emotions coming from other people, but if they were especially strong or there were a lot of people feeling the same thing at once, it was a struggle to block all of it out.

"Anyway," Zoro reached out to lay a hand on Law's shoulder. "He sucked your dick, remember? It's not like he does that for just anybody," he tone was light and Law snorted, but Sanji knew he was feeling better about everything.

"Yes, and he was rather excellent at it," Law's voice had changed to a sultry growl now and Sanji knew his cheeks were red, but inwardly he was once again glad that Zoro knew just how to ease the tension merely by being his normal blunt self.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Sanji pressed his lips to Law's cheek quickly. "But you've had a long day and I know you didn't get any sleep last night out in the cold and rain, so go take a nap."

Law yawned in response, which made it rather hard for him to refute Sanji's words. "Mm, perhaps I could use a couple hours' rest," he didn't sound particularly concerned, although he staggered a little after stepping away from Sanji before he managed to right himself. "Are you two…"

"We'll be in right away. Go to bed," Zoro ordered. Law didn't look particularly happy to be following someone else's directions, but he turned his body toward the door and started to head inside.

"Oh, by the way…" he stopped next to Zoro, resting one hand on the swordsman's broad shoulder and leaning in to kiss him, whispering something against his lips that Sanji couldn't hear.

Zoro looked pleased when he pulled back, though, grinning so wide nearly all of his teeth were showing. "Yeah?"

"Yes. Assuredly," Law nodded once, rather formally, before heading back into the cabin.

Zoro watched until he'd gone into the bedroom before he turned, stepping out onto the balcony and wrapping his arms around Sanji from behind.

"You're not going to tell me what he said, are you?" Sanji had figured that much out already since he was used to Zoro and Law having whispered conversations (or silent ones, for that matter) and he'd never found out what any of them had been about. It didn't bother him as much anymore, since he knew it wasn't anything negative about him, but he did still wonder at times.

"It's not bad," was all Zoro predictably said, resting his chin on Sanji's shoulder. "And I'm sorry about before. I know you don't like talking about Ace."

"It's fine," Sanji sighed. He wasn't mad at Zoro about it, and in the end it probably was good that it had come out. "It's not something that should be a secret, anyway," he decided, getting a hum from Zoro that said he agreed.

"Okay. Good," Zoro kissed his neck, keeping his lips there, and Sanji sank back into his embrace.

"Fuck, today's been way too long and we haven't even had dinner yet," he groaned, since his emotions at least felt like they'd been through the wringer and back several times. "I should go make something…"

"We can have a late supper," Zoro decided. "Law's gonna sleep for a while and I'm hoping I can finally sleep off the last of these painkillers, so you should join us," he suggested.

"You're tired of not being able to get hard, aren't you," Sanji reached up to tickle his fingers under Zoro's chin, hearing him growl irritably in response. "I know. I promise as soon as you can Law and I will take care of you," he murmured.

Zoro tightened his arms around Sanji before replying, "I think I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" Sanji asked, because while he had a few ideas he didn't want to presume Zoro would want to go _that _far right away.

"Well, you tried something for the first time today and you liked it, so I'm thinking…if you guys want to tie me up…"

"Oh, fuck. Yeah," Sanji groaned at the thought, because that was something he hadn't been sure Zoro would ever come around on. "Law said he's got a lot of ideas…"

"Stop, Cook, I can't even think about that yet knowing my cock's as limp as dead fish," he grumbled and Sanji laughed, covering his mouth because that had come out far louder than he'd intended.

"You do have a way with words, Marimo," he smiled, pushing himself upright and away from Zoro's arms. "You go in with Law. I'm gonna head down to the beach and find Gin, because it doesn't pay for him to hang around if we're really not taking off for a week this time," he finally felt confident in that, and maybe _now _they could get around to relaxing.

Well, as relaxed as he could be knowing that there was a traitor amongst his staff back at the restaurant, but for the time being there was nothing they could do about that so he shouldn't dwell on it.

"Okay. Hurry," Zoro gripped his chin and kissed him before leaving, and Sanji felt a warmth on his hair as they parted and looked up to see that the sun had finally broken through the clouds.

Maybe the weather was finally starting to look up, too.

000

It didn't take him long to get down to the beach and back, and Gin had seemed honestly happy that they'd worked everything out (and then made a few too many comments about how Sanji would be 'spending his time' for the next week that had Sanji threatening to kick him) and promised to come back a week to the day.

Sanji was really feeling the strain of the day once he traipsed back up the hill to the cabin, staggering through the door and over to the bedroom with feet that felt like lead.

Zoro and Law were curled up together under the blankets, kissing and still whispering to each other, and Sanji watched them for a few minutes with a gentle smile on his face.

They really had come a long way since the beginning, he thought, and it still amazed him sometimes how well they got along considering their initial attitudes toward each other.

It made everything easier, though, so he would never complain.

"Hey, get over here," Zoro looked up. "And take your clothes off."

"Is this a naked cuddle party?" Sanji unzipped the jacket he'd put on and shrugged out of it, hanging it on the back of the door. The jeans and thin t-shirt he was wearing underneath soon followed – they were both Law's, he realized, and he wondered if it said anything that even on a day he was prepared for Law to break up with them forever he still wanted to wear the other man's clothes – and he gratefully crawled under the covers and squirmed his way between them.

"You're cold," Law noted, leaning to kiss him. "Hmm. Are we alone?"

"For a whole week, as long as no other disasters happen," Sanji nodded, feeling his body warm up quickly now. "Did Zoro tell you…"

"Yes. I know _exactly _what I want to do to him," Law purred, and from the way his eyes were glinting Sanji could tell he was excited about it.

"It's your fault I'm on these damn painkillers so you'd better make it worth it," Zoro sounded grumpy, but he was gently stroking along the line of Law's hipbone with his thumb in a way that was completely contrary to his voice. "You're damn gorgeous, you know that?"

"Zoro," Law blushed and Sanji snickered, but trust Zoro to change the topic in the middle of a sentence. "I…I'll make it worthwhile for you," he ignored the second part of Zoro's statement, but Sanji knew he was flattered.

"Good. I'll hold you to that," Zoro kept stroking his skin and Law looked completely relaxed under the light touches. "Go to sleep already."

"Mm. I will," Law's eyes were slipping closed and the end of his sentence trailed off into a soft snore as his exhaustion finally caught up with him.

"You love him, don't you?" Sanji didn't turn to see Zoro's face, but he could _tell. _It wasn't easy with Zoro, of course, but the way he was touching Law…how obviously worried he'd been about losing him…how fiercely he'd vowed that they'd never abandon Law…it all added up.

"Do I?" Zoro sounded unconcerned, but that in itself was about as much of a confirmation as he'd ever give.

"Hmm. Yeah," Sanji yawned, nudging his nose against Law's neck and wrapping his arms around the surgeon's body, Zoro's increased weight pressed to his back telling him the swordsman had succumbed to his tiredness as well.

And, after everything that had happened, it didn't take Sanji long to fall asleep, either.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I'm not particularly happy with the middle section of this chapter, but the rest of it I think turned out reasonably well enough that I'm okay with posting it (and I continue to show how I do, in fact, ship Sanji with almost everybody, though I do fully blame the anime filler team for deciding that Ace should have an obvious attraction to Sanji because there was nothing subtle about that one kitchen scene…)

**2\. **I don't want to give away exactly what Law's ideas for Zoro are, but if you know about the concepts of shibari and kinbaku, that should give you at least a teaser of what's to come ;)

**3\. **Thanks again for the continued support and reviews/comments on this fic! I hope everybody is still enjoying it, and after this week I'm off work for the summer so that should free up my writing time at least a little!


	13. Chapter 13

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 13/?  
**Word Count:** 3658  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Thirteen**

"I'm going to need your assistance with this because I'm quite sure my hand isn't going to be of much use," Law mentioned this idly to Sanji a couple of days later, and Sanji turned to see him walking toward the bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of sinfully tight, low-slung jeans and with a few long coils of what looked like soft rope wrapped around his metal arm.

Sanji realized a moment or two later that he hadn't actually given Law any sort of indication to show he'd heard the other man because he was too busy staring, and he shook his head. "Yeah. Of course. Do I need to wear something like that or…?"

"If you want," Law looked a little confused. "It's not as if I wore this on purpose, they're just jeans."

"Right," Sanji took a step forward, reaching to pull Law closer by his belt-loops and tucking his hands under the waistband (which wasn't easy because damn, they were tight). He believed Law, though, because the other man still seemed blissfully unaware of how fucking hot he was, no matter how many times he (and Zoro, for that matter, and it wasn't like Zoro made a habit of commenting on peoples' looks) brought it up.

"Sometimes it still amazes me how attracted you are to me," Law's lips quirked upward in a bemused smirk. "I'm…"

"Don't," Sanji kissed him to stop him from saying the rest of what was no doubt a horribly self-deprecating sentence. "Just don't. You're a fucking work of art."

"I'm going to assume you're not referring solely to these," he brushed a hand down the tattoo on his chest.

'Well, those too." Sanji didn't see the point in denying it. He couldn't say he particularly had a fondness for tattoos, and he'd never considered getting one himself, but for some people they just _worked _and Law was undoubtedly one of those people.

He let his hands rest on Law's chest and his eyes closed when Law set a hand in the small of his back and pulled him closer, bending to rest their foreheads together.

He was…calm, Sanji realized. Almost completely so, and that was something he'd never felt from Law. There was always this anger festering just below the surface, a kind of ingrained darkness that never completely cleared, but now…

"You're happy," he realized, snapping his eyes open. "You…"

"Of course I am," Law said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's an odd feeling."

" 'Odd' isn't how most people would describe it, you know," Sanji muttered dryly and Law chuckled, pulling him in closer.

"It's hardly something I'm going to take for granted," Law shrugged, pressing his lips to Sanji's forehead and lingering there for a few breaths. "I think I could get used to it, though."

"Good. We're gonna make damn sure you do," Sanji vowed.

Law had told him once, so many years ago, that he thought Sanji could make him happy.

Now, he was just glad that he finally was.

000

"What are you doing?"

Zoro blinked open his eye slowly when they walked in, looking like he was waking up from a trance. He was sitting on the bed, completely naked, his body as still as a statue.

"Meditating," he grunted, and Sanji frowned.

"Why?"

"Well," the look Zoro gave them then was completely clear-eyed, something so intensely focused in it that it reminded Sanji of how he looked right before going into battle. "This is going to…test me, right? I need to be mentally prepared…"

And Sanji tried to resist the urge to laugh, because _of fucking course _Zoro would see this as some sort of test that he would need to pass.

"That's not what this is about, Zoro," Law crossed to the bed, dropping the coils of rope. "Of course it can be purely about restraint and submission, but what I have in mind for you is somewhat different."

"You've seen me tied up," Sanji added. "I mean, did you think I was in pain?"

"No," Zoro frowned, looking perplexed now. "I just thought…"

"Here's what's going to happen," Law spoke over him, undoing one of the coiled roped and running it between his fingers. "We'll do this in two parts. The first won't restrain your movements in any way, and if you're still feeling comfortable once that's complete, we'll go further. Is that acceptable?"

Zoro still looked like he was completely unsure as to what was happening, but he nodded slowly after a few moments of silence. "Yeah. Okay."

"Stand up," Law was all business, naturally, and Zoro complied, getting to his feet and crossing his arms. He really had no shame, Sanji thought, because even though both of them were still fully clothed (or partially clothed, in Law's case), he didn't look uncomfortable in the least. "Good. Sanji," he glanced to him and Sanji took a step forward, glad that he was wearing one of Law's old low-necked T-shirts and a pair of casual slacks or else he would have felt _really _overdressed.

Zoro, as it turned out, was the perfect model for rope-work because he was capable of keeping his body completely still. Law's directions were blunt, his hands directing Sanji's to loop the rope three times down Zoro's chest once it had been draped around the back of Zoro's neck.

"Spread your legs a little, if you would," Law murmured then. He parted the strands of rope rather expertly, tracing his fingers down Zoro's chest in a move that was entirely unnecessary, and ran the loose ends of the rope through Zoro's legs. "This next part might feel a bit uncomfortable," he warned before pulling the rope up again.

Zoro flinched a little when the rope settled in the crease of his ass, and Sanji knew he was still a little…hesitant about anything having to do with that part of his body. Yeah, he'd let Law finger him once, but that was the extent of it.

Law parted the rope again and brought the ends forward, passing one end to Sanji and pulling his through one of the loops in the rope they'd made earlier. From there on out it was a little easier to figure out, the rope crossing behind Zoro's back each time before wrapping through the front loops, creating a diamond-like pattern of ropes criss-crossing Zoro's torso.

Once they'd reached the topmost one, Law took both ends of the rope again and pulled them around Zoro's back once more, looping them under the original strand hanging around the swordsman's neck before running both strands down Zoro's spine to his waist.

"Now, this is the part I'm going to need help with," he tugged Sanji closer, winding the rope around Zoro's waist a couple of times to create a thicker strand there and getting the blond to create two loose knots on either side of the main rope in the center of Zoro's back. "Make sure they're wide enough to feed another rope through," Law's hands moved to his arms, less guiding him and more just…touching, and Sanji was fast coming to see how even the _process _of tying somebody up could be extremely sensual.

"Okay," he left the two ends of the rope hanging, unsure what to do with them, but Law seemed satisfied with that.

"Good. That's it," he stepped back and Sanji moved with him, taking in their handiwork.

"That's it?" Zoro frowned, looking down at his body. The ropes Law had chosen were bleached a clean white, and against Zoro's sun-darkened skin they looked even brighter. "But it's…"

"Comfortable?" Law asked, wrapping an arm around Sanji's waist, and Zoro gave him an appraising look before nodding.

"Except for the one going up my ass crack, yeah," he grunted and Sanji snorted. "It's not tight at all."

"Again, it's not supposed to be. Harnesses like this are as much aesthetic as they are sexual," he reached forward, running his fingers down Zoro's chest through the center of the diamond pattern the ropes created. "Still want to go farther?"

"Yeah. Bring it," Zoro grinned, looking far more excited than apprehensive now.

"Good. This next part _will _be a little more strenuous, and it's going to immobilize your hands, but if you're feeling uncomfortable at all tell me and I'll have you out of there in a second with my ability," he promised, completely serious now.

"Law," Zoro reached out and pulled him closer, his large hands spreading over Law's back. "I'm fine. I trust you guys," his eye flicked up to Sanji and the cook smirked at him. "Whatever you've got in store for me, I can handle it."

"It's not about 'handling it'," Law huffed. "This is supposed to be just as enjoyable for you as it is for us."

"It will be," Zoro ran his hands down Law's back, pulling him down into a kiss, and Law curled his fingers around one of the ropes crossing Zoro's chest to press his body closer. They'd been…different since that night Sanji had almost gotten Zoro to admit that he had feelings for Law.

Yeah, the animosity between them had been gone for a long time, but there was always something guarded in their interactions that seemed to have completely disappeared now. They looked…comfortable with each other, and that wasn't something Sanji would have ever expected when they'd started this whole thing.

He still wasn't sure how _he _felt about that, though, because no matter how much he trusted their feelings toward him, there would _always _be a tiny part of his brain that niggled away at his insecurities.

Before, he could always be convinced that part of the reason they were doing anything together was for his sake, but now he really couldn't say the same.

"I meant it, you know," Zoro mumbled then, almost too low to hear, and Law hummed and kissed him again, his metal hand resting against Zoro's stomach.

"I do. I did as well," was all he managed to say before their mouths were damn near fused together again, and Sanji suddenly felt very, very unwelcome.

It was stupid, and he _knew _it was stupid, but…

He turned around and walked out of the bedroom, flopping on the sofa in living room and groaning because he was being so _shitty _about everything.

They could all be in love. There was nothing wrong with that. It didn't mean they loved him any less.

…

Yeah, that little pep-talk wasn't doing fuck-all.

His fingers twitched for a cigarette and he immediately felt guilty, both for wanting one after doing so well trying to wean himself off of them and for immediately thinking that being around Law had made him want to smoke more than he had in years.

It wasn't Law's fault that he was insecure.

That was all on him.

Still, the desire to go back into that bedroom was pretty low, and he sat on the couch for a while, picking at a loose thread in the fabric on one of the cushions and trying not to think about what Zoro and Law were getting up to without him.

"You know, you're rather horrible at sneaking out."

"Shit," he mumbled, leaning his head was lying on the back of the couch and looking up at a rather unamused Law. "Sorry."

"Sanji," Law clicked his tongue, leaning down to brace his arms on Sanji's shoulders and giving him an upside-down kiss. "Don't ever doubt what either of us feel for you. _Ever."_

"I know," Sanji sighed, letting his eyes flutter closed and feeling Law's lips press against his forehead. "It's stupid."

"Being jealous of Zoro and I? Yes, it is," Law, of course, didn't mince words and Sanji snorted. "I think it's rather obvious that we do, in fact, have some semblance of feelings toward each other, but you…" he set his metal hand on the back of the couch and vaulted over, somehow ending up in Sanji's lap in an awkward sprawl of limbs.

He didn't say anything else, his golden eyes staring at Sanji, unblinking, until the blond sighed and sat up enough that he could wrap his arms around Law's neck.

"I can't do what you can with your Haki," Law murmured softly, cupping Sanji's face in his hands. "I can't prove my feelings in such a definitive way. All I can tell you is that if what you projected to me the other day is how you truly feel, if I could return the gesture, it would be the same."

Sanji nodded, because Law had said that at the time and it wasn't that he _didn't _believe him, but…

"I love you, Sanji," Law was still staring at him intently and Sanji forced himself to meet the surgeon's gaze, seeing nothing but honesty in his eyes. Sanji nodded again and pulled him down into a kiss, breathing out against his lips. "Mm, let's save that for later," Law suggested, smirking now. "Because it would be a shame to stop when we've gotten Zoro this far, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah," he allowed himself a tiny smile, because that much was certainly true. Zoro was being extremely accommodating, after all, so any personal crises could wait until afterward.

"Good," Law seemed to sense that he still wasn't fully okay and he leaned in, resting his forehead against Sanji's and matching his breathing. Sanji sank into the embrace, feeling the utter love and contentment radiating from Law and letting it chase away all of the negative thoughts in his head.

Law's eyes were unfocused when he opened them, the gold in them almost glowing, and Sanji knew his probably looked much the same.

"I…" Law blinked. "Did we just…"

"Yeah," Sanji nodded, puling Law back to him because he didn't want to let go yet. "I think your Haki's stronger than you're giving yourself credit for."

"Fuck," Law murmured, giving a tiny chuckle. "That's…intense."

"I guess I got my answer," Sanji suddenly felt much better about everything, because as far as he knew two people had to have an extremely strong connection to be able to be _that _in-sync with each other, and that wasn't a feeling that could be anything but honest.

"I told you," Law kissed him softly before pulling back, his eyes clearer now. "So you and Zoro…"

"Yeah. I think it makes him uncomfortable because it makes you feel so fucking exposed, though," he grinned, standing up and stretching out his back. "You okay? I know it kinda leaves you off-balance, especially if it's never happened before."

"I'm fine," Law stood up, although Sanji noticed he was moving rather carefully. He led the way back into the bedroom and Zoro looked up when they entered.

"Can we…" he stopped, looking from Law to Sanji, his eye narrowing before he broke out into a grin. "You did it, huh?"

"Not on purpose," Sanji knew he'd recognize the signs, and he was willing to bet both of their eyes were still brighter than normal.

He still didn't know _exactly _what was going on when that happened, but the best he and Zoro could figure out was that it had to do with two people who could use Observation Haki not only feeling the same thing, but having a close enough connection otherwise that whatever they were feeling was magnified enough that the feelings fed off of each other and created a sort of shared emotion where it was impossible to tell where one person's feelings ended and the other's began.

It wasn't anything like mind-reading, but it still made a person feel vulnerable because their most honest emotions were being laid bare.

"Still. That's good, right?" Zoro looked hopeful and Sanji moved closer to him, running his fingers down the ropes crossing Zoro's chest. He flattened his palm so that the rope pressed against Zoro's scar when he slid his hand along them, knowing how sensitive it was, and Zoro groaned low in his throat. "Don't try to distract me, Cook," he growled.

"Yeah. It's good," Sanji glanced back at Law, who was picking up another long length of rope and coiling it around his arm.

"Good. So I won't get on your case for being stupid because you can't doubt us anymore," Zoro jabbed a finger at his shoulder and Sanji shoved his arm away. He couldn't deny it, though.

"Shall we?" Law came over with the rope, setting one hand in the small of Sanji's back and looking to Zoro. "Still comfortable?"

"Yeah, 's not bad," he shrugged, and Sanji could tell he was being honest and not hiding any sort of pain to try and look tougher. The ropes had enough slack that they weren't digging into his skin, but the harness was still secure enough that it wasn't just going to fall apart if Zoro moved around in it. "So what's next?"

"As I said this will be a little more strenuous on your body. Kneel down," Law tugged Zoro over to where there was a plush rug covering the wooden floor and the swordsman gave him a curious look but complied. "Raise your arms above your head and then bend your elbows, but keep your hands together," he instructed, which got him another half-glare as Zoro was obviously trying to figure out what exactly he meant.

"Like this?" he stretched his arms up, clasping his hands together, and then lowered his forearms so his wrists were behind his neck.

"Perfect. Put your hands flat against each other," he watched as Zoro unclasped his fingers, letting his palms press together. "Tell me if anything becomes too uncomfortable."

"Yeah, yeah," Zoro grunted, but Sanji had seen him hold meditation poses that required a _lot _more flexibility than that and be fine for an extended period of time, so he was betting this wasn't painful at all.

"Sanji?" Law held out the rope and Sanji reached to take it, tying Zoro's wrists together while Law directed him. He could hear Zoro's breathing quicken and knew that the other man, despite his apparent nonchalance, had never been restrained like this before.

"Hey, Marimo, you good?" he asked, getting a snort in return as Zoro settled more comfortabl back onto his heels.

Once his wrists were secure, Law directed Sanji to loop the rope through itself, leaving them with a long double-strand.

"Now, this isn't something I'd normally do with somebody inexperienced, but…" he circled the rope around Zoro's bicep, keeping his arms pressed back and making the other man sit up straighter to take the strain off of his back. Law tugged it around to the front, crouching down so that he was level with Zoro and leaning in to kiss him. "Keep your mouth open."

"Why? Gonna gag me?" Zoro was grinning like he'd already figured it out and Law reached out to tip his chin up, raising one eyebrow slightly. Zoro opened his mouth, biting down against the rope when Law passed it between his teeth, and he pulled it around Zoro's other arm and back to tie it off through a final loop in the ropes tying Zoro's wrists together.

"As I said," Law glanced up at Sanji as he bent down to pick up the loose ends of rope left over from the first harness they'd tied, "I normally wouldn't obstruct the speaking abilities of a novice, but in Zoro's case he can still tell us if it's too much."

"It's fine," Zoro replied, his speech as clear as ever.

"Right. We're almost done," Law directed Sanji to take the ends of rope leading from Zoro's waist and pull one directly up his body to tie off around the one circling his shoulders, connecting the two harnesses. He repeated the same on the other side, pulling it tight enough that Zoro had to arch back a little, and once that was finished Law stepped back to no doubt admire his handiwork.

Sanji got up as well, touching Zoro's arm and feeling the soft rope slide under his fingers, and he walked around to the front to see the full effect.

And fuck, he was glad Zoro let them do this, because he was something to behold. The first harness criss-crossed up Zoro's long torso in a diamond pattern, bright white against his tanned skin; the second was only visible in front where it passed around his arms and through his mouth, but the way it pulled his shoulders back made the long curve of his body even more pronounced. Every muscle in his body was taut, the power in his biceps and his thighs obvious from the position he was forced into, but there was something utterly captivating about the juxtaposition of his very visible strength and the fact that he was naked on his knees, restrained and gagged and completely at their mercy.

"Hmm," Law stepped up beside him, pressing his nose into Sanji's hair. "I think he likes it."

Sanji glanced down and noticed that Zoro's cock was indeed hard, shiny with wetness at the tip and curving toward his stomach.

"It's been a long time," Zoro grunted, obviously trying to play off the fact that being tied up turned him on as pure sexual frustration.

"Right," Law sounded like he didn't believe him at all. He knelt down again, pressing his lips to Zoro's throat and reaching to brush the very head of Zoro's cock with his fingertips.

"Fuck, don't tease," Zoro gasped around the ropes, shivering.

"Well, then," Law stood up and looked at Sanji, smirking rather evilly. Sanji returned the grin, knowing that Zoro was going to enjoy this as much as they were.

"What are we gonna do with him?" he asked, sliding his arm around Law's waist. Law tapped his fingers against Sanji's hip, humming quietly before he replied:

"Whatever we want. So let's get started."

**Notes:**

**1\. **I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter! I knew where I wanted it to go but for some reason it wasn't working properly, and while I'd intended for there to be actual smut in this chapter, it was going on too long so I decided to end it there (but don't worry, I won't skip over the fun next time ;) )

**2\. **Also, I hope everything in this chapter is clear enough. I know description isn't my strong point and there's a lot of rope to keep track of, but hopefully it's not too confusing to figure out!

**3\. **That's about it! As always, thank you so much for the continued reviews and comments, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well.


	14. Chapter 14

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 14/?  
**Word Count:** 2696  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Fourteen**

"So what're you gonna do?"

Zoro didn't look _nervous, _exactly, though there was something about his body that was tenser than even the position the ropes were forcing him into would require. His breathing was controlled, but it was a little too fast for Sanji to believe he was fully relaxed, and he stepped forward and trailed his hand through Zoro's hair, trying to reassure him without words.

He felt Law's hand come to rest in the small of his back, the surgeon's mouth placed close to his ear.

"Perhaps, this time, we should let him choose?" he whispered, and Sanji nodded.

Yeah, part of the fun of it…at least for him…was never quite knowing what your partners were going to do next but trusting them enough to not be afraid, and Zoro obviously wasn't that comfortable with this yet.

Sanji couldn't blame him, but it meant they'd have to do things a little differently than he'd been imagining.

"What would you _like _us to do?" Law asked, reaching to grip Zoro's chin and tilting his head up more. "We'll leave it up to you this time around."

Sanji could see some of the tension in Zoro's shoulders release and he bit down on the rope in his mouth rather playfully, eye narrowed.

"Well…you know I've…never had a blowjob…"

Law's brow furrowed, a rather confused look flitting across his face as his mouth moved soundlessly for a few seconds as if he were whispering to himself.

"Have I truly never…"

Zoro shook his head as much as he could in his current position. Law released his jaw, dropping down into a crouch so that he was level with Zoro.

"Would you like that?"

Zoro gave him a rather unimpressed look that implied Law shouldn't have even asked that question. The surgeon smirked, leaning in to press his lips to Zoro's neck and dragging his tongue up to the other mans' ear. He whispered something too low for Sanji to hear, his breath making Zoro's earrings chime together, and Sanji saw Zoro's eye widen, his cock twitching in a way that made Sanji even more eager to get started.

Law pulled away, trailing his fingers along the ropes before stepping away. He latched his arm around Sanji's waist again, leaning in close, and Sanji closed his eyes and turned into Law's body.

"What did you tell him?" he asked quietly, tugging Law closer by his beltloops and kissing his shoulder. "I'm guessing he liked it…"

"I said that, since he's never experienced it, perhaps we _both _should give him a demonstration…since you proved more than adequate at it the other day," Law murmured, and Sanji felt his cheeks flush.

Truth be told he was sure he was pretty shitty at giving a blowjob, but if Law had liked it, that had to mean something, especially since Law wasn't somebody to sugar-coat anything.

"You mean…both of us at the same time…"

"Mm," Law hummed. "Why not?"

Sanji didn't exactly have an answer for that, even though his initial thought was that they'd just get in each other's way, but…

But this was Law, and he and Law damn near shared a brain sometimes, so he was sure they could figure it out.

"Yeah. Let's do it," Sanji's eyes flicked to Zoro again, seeing that he was still breathing heavily, but this time it was out of pure arousal instead of apprehension.

"Right," Law kissed him briefly before moving back toward Zoro and crouching down again, fingers tangled in the harness crossing his chest. "You know the rules, Zoro."

Zoro grunted something unintelligible, his stare toward Law almost like a challenge before he nodded once, stiffly, trying to roll his shoulders back.

"Still okay?" Law was back to being simply concerned and Sanji was in awe sometimes of how quickly he could go between being dark and seductive and almost _dangerous _and being completely honest and considerate of his partners' well-being.

It _was _useful, though, especially for the sorts of things they tended to do.

"Yeah, 'm fine," Zoro promised.

"Good," Law knelt on the floor, bending forward and wrapping his real hand around the base of Zoro's cock. He gave a quick lick to the head, swiping a bead of pre-cum off, and Zoro's hips jerked into the touch. "So eager," Law chuckled, ducking his head and licking a strip up the full length of Zoro's erection.

The position that Zoro was forced into because of the ropes, with his back arched and his hips pushed forward, meant that his cock was on perfect display and Sanji could kind of see how this would work.

Still, he wasn't going to figure out anything if he was just standing and watching. He moved to kneel beside Law, getting as close as he could. His instincts had served him well enough last time with Law, so he decided that trusting them again was probably the best way to go about this.

He leaned in closer, dragging his tongue up the side of Zoro's cock that Law wasn't currently working on, and he could feel Zoro's entire body shudder.

Well. Obviously he was doing _something _right, judging by that reaction.

He tried to mirror Law as best he could, moving in sync with him and reaching out with his Haki to get some insight into whether Zoro was enjoying it (he was, immensely, if the feelings literally pouring off of him were any indication).

Law moved up again, skimming his lips along the side of Zoro's cock and flicking his tongue against the leaking slit, and Sanji was so engrossed in watching him that he forgot he was supposed to be doing the same thing.

Their tongues brushed against each other, so close they were nearly kissing, and then Law _was _kissing him, somehow, with the head of Zoro's cock still between their lips. It felt awkward, and he was sure they looked rather ridiculous, but Zoro let out a gasp and a _'fuck…' _ending in a low moan that suddenly made all of Sanji's lingering uncertainties about it disappear.

Law pulled away from his mouth with a wet 'smack,' nibbling over to Zoro's hip. Sanji decided that was as clear a sign as any that Law wanted him to take over and he was more than happy to, sliding his lips fully over Zoro's cock for the first time and feeling his body shake.

Law kept kissing up Zoro's body as Sanji slid his mouth lower, running his tongue along skin not covered by the rope harness. Sanji flicked his eyes up when Zoro let out a tiny gasp, but it was impossible to see his expression from the angle he was at.

"Wait…" he mumbled, his voice strained, and Sanji pulled off of Zoro's cock immediately, seeing that Law had also stopped moving.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Law asked quietly. Zoro sighed, his body relaxing a little.

"No, 's just…a lot, with both of you," he sounded a little embarrassed and Sanji nuzzled his stomach, hiding his smile against Zoro's skin. Yeah, Zoro didn't lose control often, and for the most part he'd been the one giving attention as opposed to receiving it when they'd fooled around, so he could imagine everything all at once was probably overwhelming.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a _little _proud that he was part of the reason Zoro was coming apart.

"Should we go easy on you?" Law murmured, though he didn't sound like he was mocking Zoro for not being able to handle it. Fuck, Sanji didn't know how he hadn't realized sooner how close those two had become, because now it was so damn obvious they loved each other and Sanji still wasn't exactly sure how it had _happened. _

"No, I'm…" Zoro sighed, shifting and stretching his back as much as he could. "I like it. A lot."

"Good. That's what we want," Law kissed his neck and Sanji took that as a sign to keep going so he slid his lips over Zoro again, taking him as deep as he could. He hummed, flicking his tongue against the underside of Zoro's cock and feeling his entire body shudder.

"_Fuck, _Cook…" Zoro gasped, his hips bucking forward a little. Sanji didn't even realize he'd closed his eyes until he felt Law's hand on his back, his entire focus on what he was doing. He yelped a little when Law pulled him upright, kissing him deeply, and Sanji realized what he was up to.

Hell, it had always turned him on to watch Zoro and Law go at it, so it stood to reason Zoro might feel the same about them. Sanji snuck a glance at him, seeing that from his reddening skin and leaking cock, he probably did. He could also tell, though, that despite the swordsman's assurances that he wasn't in any pain, he was starting to feel the strain of being held in that position for too long, even if he'd never admit it aloud.

"I've got an idea. I'll trade you spots," Law mumbled against his lips, kissing him once more before he dropped down again and deep-throated Zoro in the same motion, not stopping until his nose was pressed into the curly thatch of dark-green hair surrounding the base of his cock.

And yeah, that made Sanji feel a little inadequate again, no matter what Law might have said earlier, because both of them were so much better at this than he was.

He tried not to think about something that would ruin the mood and instead picked up where Law had left off, licking and kissing every exposed inch of Zoro's tanned skin and dragging his tongue over a dusky, peaked nipple as Zoro groaned appreciatively.

He heard a 'click' then, wondering what exactly Law was up to, before Zoro's entire body gave a jerk and he let out a sound that Sanji had never heard him make before, something that was so primal and needy that Sanji could damn near _taste _how desperate he was.

Looking down, he saw that Law had wrapped his mechanical hand around one of the ropes and turned the vibration on so that it was being carried along through all of them, including the ones surrounding Zoro's cock and running between his legs.

Between that, Law's mouth still working his cock and Sanji trying to touch and taste everywhere he possibly could, he was sure Zoro wasn't going to be able to hold on much longer.

He felt Law's hand press against his leg and looked down, watching the older man pull off of Zoro's cock and smack his lips a couple of times. "I'm going to leave it up to you when he's allowed to come," he all but purred, moving his hand back down to keep stroking Zoro as he spoke.

Sanji nodded, swallowing heavily, because he had no faith in his ability to be as authoritative as Law…or even Zoro, because he'd done a damn good job of that the other day. Yeah, he'd done it before, but…

"Stop thinking so hard," Law admonished him before going back to his task, and Sanji tried to refocus on what he was doing, closing his teeth gently around Zoro's nipple and tugging gently.

"_Fuck," _Zoro was shaking all over now, both from the vibrations and from how turned on he was, and Sanji saw that Law wasn't holding anything back, sucking and licking and humming low in his throat. "Cook, I…"

"If you can't say my fucking _name, _I'm not letting you come," Sanji replied without even thinking, and Law's throaty chuckle made him feel a little embarrassed for worrying so much because, okay, that had been easier than he'd thought.

"S-Sanji.." Zoro swallowed, his teeth clenched tightly around the rope in his mouth. "Please, I…"

"Please what?" Sanji asked, running his hands up Zoro's sides and over the sensitive skin on the undersides of his arms where they were held over his head. "If you want something you have to ask for it, Marimo," he teased, flicking Zoro's earrings so they chimed together.

Zoro let out a sound that was almost a whine then, something so raw and full of need that it made Sanji want to give in, but he knew he had to make Zoro work for this a little more.

"Please…_fuck…_I need to…c-come…" he choked out, and Sanji heard the vibrations get louder as Law turned up the intensity. "Fuck, Sanji, I can't…"

"Shh," Sanji kissed his chest, dropping back down to his knees when Law tugged at his wrist. "You've done so well."

Law pulled off of Zoro's cock again, moving his hand back and jerking him off as quickly as he could.

Sanji could tell when Zoro was at his breaking point, every muscle in his body straining with trying to hold off his orgasm, and he pressed a kiss to his hip and knew it was time.

"_Please," _Zoro's voice was ragged, his breath coming out in harsh pants.

"Yes. Come. Now," he ordered. Zoro's cock twitched in Law's grasp before he did.

Law slid his lips over the very tip of Zoro's cock, working him through his orgasm before he yanked Sanji closer and kissed him, and being able to taste Zoro in Law's mouth was far hotter than he could have ever expected.

He heard Law click his hand off as they separated, both of them breathing heavily. Law gave him a rather pleased smile before he hopped to his feet and used his ability to sever the ropes, which certainly went a lot faster than untying them by hand would have.

Zoro kind of flopped onto his side, his chest heaving, and Law set a hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently.

"Okay?"

"Mm. Yeah," Zoro rolled onto his back and blinked up at the ceiling, stretching his limbs out and looking surprised when there must have been no pain. "That was…fuck…"

"For somebody who had such an aversion to being tied up in the first place, you certainly seemed to enjoy yourself," Law noted, and Zoro shifted so his head was resting on Law's thigh, frowning a little.

"I did," he started, pursing his lips like he was trying to come up with the right words. "But I think…part of it was because I know how much _you _guys love it. Like, if it was just me, I probably wouldn't want to do it that often, but…"

And Sanji could understand what he was saying, since before meeting Law he'd never imagined adding anything like that to his own sex life. He _was_ still pretty sure liked the act itself more than Zoro did, though.

"So you're saying it wasn't being restrained that turned you on, but knowing that both of us would enjoy it made you more receptive to it?" Law questioned, getting a half-shrug in return.

"Yeah. I guess? I did like it though," he promised, and Sanji knew he wouldn't lie about something like that. Zoro might have had a high pain tolerance, but if he really didn't like something, he wasn't one to keep quiet.

"Good. I'm glad," Law was smiling down at him. Sanji snuggled up against Law's side, reaching to run his fingers through Zoro's hair, and the other man sighed happily and closed his eyes.

He fell asleep almost instantly, snoring quietly. Law turned to Sanji and nuzzled his nose against the blond's temple. "You know those…supplies I picked up from the bounty hunters' base?"

"Yeah?" Sanji perked up. He'd been wondering when Law would bring that up, because he was sure the other man had plans for how to use…whatever it was he'd grabbed. "What about them?"

"They're not just for me to use on you," he whispered, and Sanji gulped, his face going warm.

Law didn't say anything else, his head comfortably leaning against Sanji's shoulder, but Sanji made a mental note to look through that bag of supplies at the first chance he got – after all, the fact that Law _wanted _him to do just that made him all the more eager to get started.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I'm so sorry about the wait on this chapter, but my smut muse wasn't cooperating at all and I'm still not sure if it's any good, but I wanted to post it now that I've actually finished it up!

**2\. **There was going to be another scene at the end of this chapter but after trying to connect the two I realized it would shift the mood a little too abruptly, so I decided to leave this chapter as-is because a chapter of pure smut once in a while isn't a bad thing! That does mean I've got about half of the next chapter written already, though, so hopefully it won't be three weeks before I update this fic again.

**3\. **Thank you all as always for the lovely reviews and comments!


	15. Chapter 15

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 15/?  
**Word Count:** 3349  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Fifteen**

Zoro was already awake by the time Sanji woke up the next morning, propped up on one elbow and staring at him.

"What?" he yawned, stretching his arms over his head…well, the one arm he could, anyway, since Law was lying pretty heavily on his other one.

"Nothing," Zoro shook his head, reaching across Law's body to rest his hand in the curve of Sanji's waist. "Just thinking that we don't get enough days like this."

"Days where we get to lie in bed and do nothing?" Sanji chuckled, though he couldn't disagree. Getting up at the crack of dawn every single day at the restaurant didn't leave them a lot of moments to themselves, and not for the first time he wondered how much of a toll that had taken on their relationship.

He might never admit it, but honestly if this whole…thing hadn't happened he couldn't have said how much longer they would have lasted. Yeah, maybe they'd try to keep it together, but eventually Sanji would have lost himself in his work and Zoro would have left for longer and longer until one day he didn't come back at all.

It was a sobering thought, but one that Sanji had tried to avoid thinking until now and, hopefully, would never have to consider in the future because he just wasn't going to let it happen.

"Hey. We're good, Cook," Zoro's thumb was stroking his hipbone slowly, the look in his dark eye intense.

"Yeah. We are," Sanji promised. He pushed himself up enough that he could lean over Law to kiss Zoro, holding their lips together without really moving. "D'you think we might have…" he whispered, and Zoro sighed.

"Who knows? I'd like to say no, but honestly…" he frowned as he moved his head back, like he was afraid how Sanji was going to take that. "Maybe it's just a sign that we need him, huh?" he asked, moving his hand to rest on Law's stomach.

"Heh. Maybe," Sanji chuckled, because at one point the idea of Law being the glue that held them all together would have been laughable, but now…

Now, it was hard to deny that things were just _better _when he was around. Still, the fact that he and Zoro needed a third party for it to work between them…something about that still didn't exactly sit right with him, but…

"We're not weak," Zoro was staring at him intently, reaching out with his Haki, and Sanji let himself sink into the familiar mental embrace. "Maybe we'd be fine. Maybe we wouldn't. But needing him…that doesn't make us weak."

"I know," Sanji assured him, and he was already feeling better about everything just knowing that Zoro understood. There was no point worrying about what might have happened, he supposed, since hopefully they'd never _have _to worry about that again.

"Mm, if you two are quite finished discussing me…" Law didn't open his eyes, mumbling the words more into Sanji's arm than anything else. Sanji tried to mask his embarrassment with a nervous chuckle, although from the utterly dry tone of Law's voice he'd already heard enough.

"Sorry," Zoro sounded as chagrined as Sanji felt, but when Law finally looked at them he didn't seem like he was angry.

"It's fine. In fact, it feels…good to know that I'm needed," Law glanced between both of them. "As you can imagine, I haven't experienced that much in my life."

"Well, get used to it," Zoro pulled him closer to kiss him, Law sinking into it and humming in what sounded like pure contentment.

Sanji pressed a kiss to the back of Law's neck before sliding out of the bed, stretching his back and glancing toward the bathroom. A shower didn't seem like a bad idea, and from the looks of Zoro and Law, neither of them would be moving for a while.

He slipped into the bathroom, a glance back showing that Zoro and Law had stopped kissing and were now whispering to each other, bodies curled close.

It didn't bother him as much anymore, not after what he and Law had done the day before with their Haki, and he allowed himself a tiny smile before pulling the bathroom door shut behind him.

000

When Sanji got out of the shower he found Zoro snoring quietly under the covers and Law standing in front of his dresser, the picture of his family held in his real hand.

"Hey," Sanji wasn't sure if Law wanted to be approached, especially since the look on his face was utterly melancholy, but his aura was still calm enough that Sanji decided to take a chance. He leaned against Law's side, staring at the picture and sighing when Law's metal arm came to rest around his shoulders.

"It's been twenty-one years exactly," Law replied without him having to ask, and Sanji could see why it would be more on his mind than usual. "I can still…" he sighed and bowed his head. "Forgive me. I'm sure it's the last thing you want to hear about."

"If you need to tell somebody, I'm here to listen," Sanji assured him, and Law placed the photo down before slipping away from Sanji and moving to sit on the bed.

Zoro grumbled a little, eye slitting open before he sighed and relaxed again. Sanji hopped up beside Law and curled himself close again, sensing that Law needed the comfort. "I…when I close my eyes I can still see the flames, and the blood…my parents…they…" he bit his lip and looked down, curling his fingers into the sheets. "I found them together, like they were trying to protect each other even in their final moments…or maybe they didn't want to die alone…" his voice broke a little and Sanji felt his own heart clench. "My sister…she…the hospital burned, I don't…I hope it was quick, for her sake…" he whispered. "And my friends...the Sister who thought she was leading them to safety…they were gunned down like animals, tricked into believing somebody _wanted _to save them…" he stopped, breathing harshly. "Fuck."

Sanji didn't know what to say, other than that the building horror he was feeling was hard to contain. Hearing it told like that made it so much worse, and knowing that Law had to see all of it as a kid, all on the same day…

Zoro shifted a little so that his head was on Law's thigh, blinking open his eye and looking up at him. Law's hand hovered awkwardly for a moment before it settled in Zoro's hair, stroking gently. "You have no idea how strong you are," Zoro's voice was pitched low, a rumble that Sanji felt through his whole body. "Most people would have given up, or at least it would have broken them."

"I was too angry to let it end there," Law replied. "It's hardly noble, since it's why I sought out Doflamingo. I decided that hating the entire world was the solution, and that since my death was assured anyway, I wanted others to feel the same pain I did," he growled, something almost sinister in his tone. "I wasn't…like this before then, so maybe it _did _break me in a way, or at least broke the part of my personality that had been who I was up until then."

Sanji sighed, still not knowing what he could say to make it better…or if there even _was _anything that would make it better. He leaned down, pressing his lips to Law's shoulder and raising a hand to trace the uneven patches of lighter skin still visible underneath the swirls of his tattoo.

"They're never going to go away," Law's eyes flicked down to see what he was doing. 'The poison might be long gone, but the scars will never fade."

"I like them," Sanji promised, keeping his mouth on Law's skin. "Not what you had to go through, of course, but everything you've gone through…" he sits up and cups Law's face, making their eyes meet. "Fuck, this is so selfish, and if there was anything I could do to…to send you back somehow, cure your whole family and make you live a normal, happy life with them, I'd do it in a heartbeat, even if it meant we'd never meet, but…"

"I know," Law didn't look angry. "I can't dwell on the past because there's no way to change it, but I never could have imagined…" he pulled Sanji almost into his lap, burying his face against the cook's shoulder.

Sanji stroked his back, feeling Zoro shift on the bed and glancing up when he hugged Law from behind, hooking his chin over the older man's shoulder.

"Hey. You've got us, now."

"I know. But the thought that I came so close to losing you both because of my own stubbornness…it haunts me," Law took a shuddery breath. "Maybe knowing this anniversary was coming up made my judgment less logical than it normally is."

"Look, you don't need to apologize," Sanji pulled back enough that he was looking at Law. If that really was why he'd been so distant, it made sense, and Sanji couldn't blame him for it. "But Zoro's right. You've got us," he repeated the swordsman's words, knowing that Law needed to hear them again.

"I haven't felt safe in years," Law sighed, resting his forehead against Sanji's. "But I do with the both of you."

And Sanji knew how big that was, both for him to admit it and for him to finally feel like there was somewhere he was safe, and wanted, and he could fully relax. He kissed Law instead of saying anything else, hoping he could convey all his emotions through it.

Law's eyes were noticeably damp when Sanji broke the kiss, even though he knew the other man would never _admit _to crying. Zoro kissed the back of his neck, his hands settling down on Law's hips.

"This time, you'll get your happy ending. We're gonna make sure of it," he whispered, making it sound like an utter promise, and Law reached to grab his hand, nodding sharply.

"I'm starting to believe, with you two, it might be possible," he turned his head to kiss Zoro, cupping the other man's strong jaw and holding him in place.

"Good," Zoro drew back and kissed his forehead, making Law hum quietly. "Now c'mere, lie down," he flopped and Law lowered himself a little more slowly, barely blinking when Zoro threw one leg over his body and pulled him closer.

Sanji settled himself on Law's other side, arm around his chest and head resting on his shoulder. He reached to pull the covers over them, sighing happily.

His eyes were drawn back to the picture on Law's dresser, the late morning sunlight glinting off of the glass in the picture frame.

He still didn't believe in the whole concept of the afterlife, not really, but he sent up a thought regardless, hoping that maybe Law's family or Corazon would hear it, and vowed to look after Law for as long as he could.

And it was going to be a fucking long time, because Zoro was right: they'd make sure of it.

000

Law was gone when he woke up again, and he blinked a few times before the undeniable smell of cigarette smoke assaulted him, filling his nostrils and leading him out onto the small balcony attached to Law's bedroom.

He pulled on the closest pair of pants, scrubbing a hand through his hair and stretching his arms above his head before heading out to join him.

The other man was standing there with a lit cigarette between his lips, flicking the lighter Sanji had given him years ago idly until he realized he wasn't alone.

"Hey," Sanji murmured, stepping closer, and he frowned at the shirt Law was wearing because the last time he'd seen it, it had been stashed deep in his backpack. "Are you stealing my clothes now?"

"Hmm?" Law glanced down at the faded t-shirt, his eyes flicking to Sanji's pants. "You've been living in mine for the past few days, so I don't think you're one to talk," he smirked around the cigarette before removing it to blow out some smoke.

Sanji blushed, because that was certainly true, although…

"Hey, I just had a few clothes because I had no idea I'd be running into you here. You've got a whole house," he pointed out, although the level look Law gave him made it obvious the surgeon thought that was a poor excuse. "Anyway, I think we've been spending too much time together," he teased, nudging Law's hip with his own. "We're becoming the same person."

"I needed to smoke after…" he shrugged, and Sanji couldn't blame him, because an anniversary like that…he'd need something to calm him down, too.

"You seem better, though," Sanji leaned further against him, snuggling close when Law pulled him in.

"A little, perhaps. It helped to have people to talk about it with," he admitted, sounding like it was a chore to do so. Sanji knew by now that he'd always have issues with actually saying outright that he needed other people around sometimes, after all.

"Good," he pressed his nose to Law's shoulder, offering whatever comfort he could. Law did seem calmer, though, and unlike the times when Sanji could tell he was just cutting off his own emotions, this time it felt like he and Zoro really _were _helping just by being there.

Or maybe, he mused, it was a combination of things, because though his mood remained as unpredictable as ever, Law seemed so much more _relaxed _here than Sanji had ever seen him. He looked at home in the little cabin, and watching him standing out on the terrace smoking and staring toward the ocean below made Sanji feel a sense of rightness that he rarely felt when Law was concerned.

Law was somebody who had always seemed…transient to him, he supposed. Yes, he had a crew, but as he'd done back at Punk Hazard, he was fully capable of leaving them to fend for themselves for years at a time. He never really seemed to _belong _anywhere, and Sanji could bet that was from losing his entire world as a child and never fully settling down after that.

But here, in a place that was truly his and his alone, Sanji could see how well it suited him and part of him felt guilty that Law was willing to leave that to return to the restaurant where, truth be told, even Sanji didn't feel at home.

"Hey," he said before he could stop himself, and Law blew out some smoke and glanced down at him. "You…" he sighed, burrowing his nose into Law's collar so that he wouldn't have to see the expression on the other man's face at his next words. "You know you don't have to come with us if you don't want to."

He could feel Law's body stiffen in surprise, the other man letting out a disbelieving bark of laughter. "You can't honestly believe that, after all of this, I'd ever _willingly _separate from the two of you again, do you?"

And Sanji realized what a shitty thing that had been to say, especially considering they'd _just _told Law not only that they needed him around, but that they'd always be there for _him, _too.

"No," Sanji admitted, trying to figure out the best way to explain this so Law wouldn't be offended…well, _more _offended, anyway. "But I can tell you're happy here. At the Baratie…you were right before when you said there'd be nothing for you to do there, and I'd never be around, and Zoro's gone half the time, so…"

"I may be happy here, but anybody could see that you're not happy _there,"_ Law murmured quietly. Sanji could hardly dispute that, and the more he thought about it the more he realized it was true.

"I'm not," he pushed himself away from Law, going to lean on the balcony rail. The early afternoon breeze ruffled his hair, blowing it haphazardly in front of his eyes. He inhaled deeply, the sharp, tangy scent of brine invading his senses and calming him.

He wasn't happy there. The thought of working his entire life in that one place didn't bring him any joy. It was ruining his relationship, and with Law there, it would only do so even faster.

"It's not my dream," he finally said. "Finding All Blue, yes. Cooking for people, yes. But owning a restaurant? That was the shitty old geezer's dream, and I promised to help him achieve it…I guess part of me just assumed since he wanted to find All Blue, too, that all of his dreams had to match up with mine. I'm starting to realize that's not the case."

It was the first time he'd admitted it aloud, although he and Law had discussed it briefly, and finally accepting the idea made it feel like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"I mean, I'd have to find somebody else to take it over from me, and we've gotta deal with this shit first with the bounty hunters infiltrating my staff, but I can't stay there anymore and be happy with my life," he glanced up when Law moved closer, wrapping his arms around the blond's waist. "It's not fair to you guys, either."

"I've been thinking…" Law cleared his throat, his nose pressed into Sanji's hair. "You want to cook for people, and you want to travel, so have you ever considered…what about a mobile restaurant?" he sounded unsure of the words, like Sanji would immediately reject the idea, but Sanji blinked a few times because _that _wasn't something he'd ever considered.

"How would that work, though? I mean, I guess it could, but…"

"Well, you're used to cooking a lot, considering the size of your captain's stomach," he muttered and Sanji had to snicker. "We could travel around, anchoring in the harbors of places that don't get a lot of visitors, and set up for a couple of days or a week…"

"I could use local ingredients," Sanji put in, starting to get excited about the idea. "Sell food off of the boat, which would mean I wouldn't have to run a dining room, and I could do it all myself so I wouldn't have staff to worry about…fuck, Law, that might actually work!" he grinned, and it was hard to remember the last time he'd felt so giddy about cooking but it was _such _a good feeling to have again.

"Zoro and I could help, I'm sure, even if it's just handing food to people or getting orders ready," Law continued. "And if we came to a remote place with little access to medical technology, I could help them out in that way, too," he said quietly, and Sanji knew how important it was to him to use his ability to heal people who had no other cure.

"It's perfect," he murmured, closing his eyes and leaning back in Law's arms. "Zoro can be our bodyguard," he grinned, knowing that Zoro would prefer traveling around and finding new opponents preferable to being stuck at the _Baratie, _anyway.

"I mean, only if you w-"

He cut Law off with a kiss, gripping the collar of Law's…his…shirt and mashing their mouths together almost violently.

"I take it you like the idea, then?" Law half-smiled as they broke away and Sanji nodded, kissing him quickly once more. "We can always come back here for vacations, you know."

"We will. I'm starting to love this place," Sanji admitted, and for once he was looking forward to the future instead of being completely indifferent to it the way he had been lately.

He was sure it wouldn't all be proverbial smooth sailing, and they had things to deal with first, but maybe one day…

Maybe one day it would happen, and he knew that thought would keep him going through everything else.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter! I've had a bit of writer's block lately so I'm not completely satisfied with this, and between final projects and exams I haven't gotten as much time to write as I'd like.

**2\. **This chapter was a little more plot-heavy, at least as far as expanding on some of the concerns Sanji had voiced in earlier chapters about his dream not being all he'd imagined it to be. I'm not sure where the idea of what's essentially a floating pop-up food truck came from, but I think it would be something he'd be far more interested in than being stuck in one place for fifty years!

**3\. **Thank you as always for all the lovely reviews and comments! I'm glad people are still enjoying this fic :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Title:** Whatever Happened  
**Author:** kikokus (AoiTsukikage)  
**Rating:** NC-17 overall  
**Characters/Pairing:** Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations  
**Chapter:** 16/?  
**Word Count:** 4096  
**Summary:** Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…  
**Spoilers:** For recent chapters

**Chapter Sixteen**

In retrospect, saying 'yes' had been a bad idea.

000

Sanji had finally found time to look through the bag of things Law had collected from the bounty hunters' base, and while he could figure out what most of the contraptions inside might be useful for, there was one collection of straps and cuffs that left him baffled.

The predatory look in Law's golden eyes when he had pulled it out should have been the first warning. The low purr in his voice when he'd asked if Sanji would like a 'practical demonstration' was definitely the second.

Still, Sanji had decided to ignore all of that and agreed, which got him to where he was now.

000

"Those bounty hunters were kinky fucks."

Zoro sounded vaguely disgusted and Sanji supposed he could see why, because the position the device forced a person into was inherently sexual and there was really no other use for it that he could see.

The top part was a harness that settled over his shoulders and wrapped around his torso just under his armpits, the straps crossing behind his back and leading to a longer belt-like strap that trailed down the length of his spine. There were cuffs around his wrists that hooked onto a metal ring at the end of that belt, keeping his arms pulled behind him.

That part he probably could have figured out by himself, but the two larger cuffs that seemed to come with it were what he was originally unsure about, but Law had strapped those around his thighs, pushing his knees back so they could be hooked into more rings set into the chest harness.

The result was that his legs were spread, knees held almost to his chest, and with both legs and arms restrained he there wasn't much he could do to even _move. _

"So now what?" he asked, leaning back so that his hands were braced on the floor and swallowing heavily. It wasn't that uncomfortable, he supposed, despite really fucking with his center of balance, but it was impossible to maintain any sense of modesty with his legs held apart.

"Hmm, I can think of a few things," Law crouched down in front of him and smirked, leaning in to kiss him. "Are you okay?" he murmured against Sanji's lips, his real hand stroking down Sanji's side in an even, soothing motion. "I can get you out if…"

"I'm fine," Sanji promised, but he'd learned by now that a big part of how safe he felt even when he couldn't move or escape was because he knew that both Law and Zoro would have him out in a second if that was what he needed.

"Good," Law kissed him again, wrapping both arms around Sanji's shoulders and deepening it, and Sanji let himself relax under the attention. "I want to do something else, but I don't…I was fine doing it to Zoro since he could still talk, but…"

"You want to gag me?" Sanji guessed, because there wasn't really anything else Law could be talking about. He nuzzled his nose against Law's neck, debating with himself whether he wanted that or not. On the one hand, he trusted Zoro and Law implicitly, and he knew they'd both be able to tell if he was uncomfortable without him needing to say it…but on the other, _not _being able to say it might make him more anxious than normal, and that wouldn't be enjoyable for any of them.

"Sorry, it's a bad idea," Law reached around him to unclip the wrist cuffs and Sanji moved his arms forward to hold him, pulling him in tight. "I know how much you hate feeling trapped."

"No, I…" Sanji breathed out slowly, kissing Law's neck. "It's okay. I want to try, at least."

"Only if you're sure," Zoro grunted and Sanji glanced up at him, growling when the swordsman reached to muss his hair. "Seriously, we're not gonna think less of you if you say no."

"Don't fucking coddle me," Sanji grumbled, reaching to flatten his bangs back into place.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Zoro promised, and Sanji knew _he_ at least was convinced that Sanji was actually okay with it.

Law pulled out of the embrace slowly, nodding sharply to them both before he went to rummage in the back again. He pulled out something else, and when he moved back over Sanji could see that it looked like some sort of ball attached to yet another belt.

"You're certain?" he knelt down again and Sanji rolled his eyes, hoping that was answer enough.

"Just tell me you washed everything first, I'm not putting anything in my mouth if I don't know where it's been," he grimaced at the thought because who _knew _who that thing had been used on before.

"Of course I did," Law looked affronted that he'd even asked. "Doctor, remember? Sanitation is extremely important, as I'm sure you well know, given your profession."

He held up the ball and Sanji paused for a second before opening his mouth, and he found that it was made out of some sort of rubbery material that was easy to bite into. It stretched his jaw out a little, although it wasn't enough to cause him any real discomfort, and Law fiddled with the tiny buckle for a few seconds before sighing when his mechanical hand wouldn't cooperate and moving out of the way so Zoro could fasten it.

"Kick me if it's too tight or something," he said before he fastened it, a grin spreading across his face, and Sanji knew that he still probably _could _kick him even with his knees held to his chest like they were so he _really _shouldn't push his luck. "I like this, you can't mouth off to me," his grin widened and Sanji realized that he could never return the favor because Zoro could fucking talk through anything, and yeah, maybe he pouted for a few seconds at realizing that this was one thing Zoro could tease him mercilessly about and he had absolutely no good comeback.

He _could _still flip him off though, so he did that with both hands before Zoro grabbed his wrists and pulled them back behind his back to connect them to the straps again.

Sanji settled for glaring at him, since that was the best he could do, and Zoro kissed the top of his head and mumbled, "I'm an asshole, I know," before standing up. Sanji wanted to reply, to at least make _some _response, but of course that was impossible and he was starting to realize how difficult this would be.

Because being gagged meant that he couldn't hide, that he couldn't use his false bravado to talk tough and mask any uncertainties he was feeling, and that left him feeling rather off-balance and uncomfortable. He knew it shouldn't anymore, because of all the people he'd want to put up a front around Law and Zoro were the last ones on that list, but somehow having that last sort of safety blanket ripped away from him was hitting him harder than he thought it would.

He relaxed a little when Law's hands came back to touch his skin again, stroking gently over his stomach. His eyes slid closed and he could feel how calm both Law and Zoro were and let himself soak it in, using their feelings to ease his own worries.

"Good," Law murmured in his ear, pressing his lips to Sanji's shoulder. "You're safe with us, you know that."

He nodded, because of _course _he did, and Law pulled him closer, just holding him.

"Hey," Zoro slid behind him, reaching for his hands and squeezing them gently. Sanji leaned his head back against the swordsman, feeling completely relaxed now. "What're we doing?"

"Hmm, I think he just likes us touching him," Law let out a breathy chuckle but Sanji couldn't really deny it since, at the moment, he was really enjoying the attention. "I've got an idea, though, if you're both okay with it…" he paused, biting his lip, and Sanji knew that generally all of Law's ideas were really fucking hot so he was anxious to hear it.

"Well?" Zoro sounded impatient and Sanji knew he was eager to get started, too.

"What if…you fuck him while he fucks me?" Law murmured, and it was so quiet Sanji wasn't sure he'd heard correctly, but from the flush high on Law's cheeks he knew he had.

"Fuck," Zoro replied, but if the way his breathing picked up was any indication he definitely liked the idea. "How would it work, though? With this…" he tugged at the back of Sanji's harness and Law frowned, moving closer.

"Here," Law reached to unclip the thigh cuffs from the main harness and Sanji squeaked a little as he was finally able to extend his legs. "I'd have to put my legs through the gap between his legs and the harness," he murmured, and Sanji could see how it _could _work but it was probably going to be tight and Law would be damn near as trapped as he was. "We don't have to, of course…"

"No, if it works, I want to," Zoro said quickly, and Sanji nodded in agreement. "I think he feels the same way."

"Hmm," Law reached down to rub the head of Sanji's cock, already flushed and leaking, and swiped a bead of pre-cum from the tip with his fingers that he then licked off, keeping his eyes locked with Sanji's. "It seems like it."

"Guess we shouldn't tease him too much, huh?" Zoro slid away from behind him and Sanji almost whined at the loss of body heat since the room was cold and he was completely naked. Law seemed to understand, though, and he moved in closer again, arms wrapped around Sanji's waist.

With his legs free for the moment Sanji could wrap them around Law's body and pull him in tighter, letting the other man keep him balanced.

Sanji let him go when Zoro came back so that he could get undressed as well, and he tried to glance back over his shoulder when he heard Zoro fiddling with something. "Getting a head start, are we?" Law slid out of his jeans and tossed them aside, giving Sanji a rather amazing view of his perfect body.

"Hey, he might be flexible, but he's gonna be sore anyway the longer we leave him in this thing," Zoro pointed out and Sanji felt his stomach flutter the same way it did every time Zoro did or said something that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt how much Zoro _did _care about him.

"True," Law agreed, watching them rather impassively now even as Zoro got the oil open and hoisted Sanji into his lap, reaching to press a slicked finger inside of him.

Sanji sighed, letting his eyes slide closed. He couldn't even remember the last time he and Zoro had gotten to do this, and more than that the last time they'd gotten to do it without rushing through it just to finish because of Sanji's schedule that only allowed him maybe three hours of sleep on a normal night.

He snapped his eyes open again when he heard Law let out a tiny noise, and he groaned around the gag at the sight that greeted him. Law was crouched in front of him, metal hand braced on the ground and his real one sliding back between his legs as he fingered himself.

"Shit," Zoro murmured in his ear, and he could only silently agree.

Law's face was almost completely red now and he slid his fingers out of his body, clearing his throat and looking embarrassed. "I'm not trying to…I'm…"

"Yeah, we know," Zoro promised, adding another finger as Sanji growled at him. "You're just so damn hot it doesn't matter if you're trying to put on a show or not," he grinned, although Law hardly looked less uncomfortable about that.

Sanji had figured out by now that Law was _never _going to be completely at peace with how attractive he was, or at least how attractive _other _people thought he was, and while his bashfulness was endearing it also made Sanji a little sad because Law seemed to still see himself as the monster he was called as a child and not as the man he'd grown up to be.

And fuck it, he wanted to talk, but he knew he had to trust Zoro this time around to boost Law's confidence and so he forced himself to stay calm.

"Hey," Zoro motioned the other man closer with the hand _not _currently two fingers deep in Sanji's ass. "Look, both of us think you're beautiful, okay?" he sounded just as awkward as Law looked and Sanji tried to stifle his amusement at the situation. "That's never gonna change. You just have to believe that it's a good thing," his words were stilted, like he was trying to make sure what he was saying would be taken the right way, but Sanji was proud of him for doing it at all.

"I can't promise I'll ever believe I'm as attractive as the two of you seem to think," Law shrugged one shoulder rather listlessly. "But I've come to at least accept that you _do _feel that way about me, regardless of how I happen to view myself," he added, and Sanji knew that was about the best they could hope for. "Now, I thought we were hurrying…"

"We are," Zoro sounded completely relaxed as he added a third finger and pressed up, causing Sanji to moan rather wantonly around the gag. "So start getting ready."

"Pushy," Law clicked his tongue but got himself into a crouch again, sighing as he slid his fingers back into his body. Sanji wanted so badly to touch him, his cuffs rattling together as he moved his hands without thinking, and Law gave him a knowing smirk. He leaned back a little more, his metal arm holding all of his weight as he fucked himself back onto his fingers, and Sanji whined, half from the sight in front of him and half from Zoro deciding to curl his own fingers deeper at the same moment.

"Okay?" Zoro murmured in his ear, and Sanji nodded, his entire body thrumming with anticipation of what was to come. "Good. We've gotta…I think you need to get in here first," he looked at Law and the other man slid his fingers out of himself.

"Right. Lie back a little," Law instructed. Sanji braced his hands and feet on the carpet and leaned as far as he could, although it got a little painful since his arms were trapped behind him. "Good. Now…" Law moved over him, using his still-slick fingers to oil Sanji's cock before he gripped the base of it in his hand and lowered himself slowly, biting his lip.

Sanji felt his eyes roll back in his head because he hadn't fucked anybody in _five years _(and he realized in that moment that Law hadn't _been _fucked in that long, either, so both of them were a little rusty) and the pressure around his cock was intense. Law was shaking by the time he was fully-seated, sweat starting to bead on his dark skin, and Sanji pushed himself up so he could rub his cheek along the other man's chest, which was about the most affectionate gesture he could manage in his current position.

"Mm, we have to…" Law pulled Sanji up so their torsos were pressed together, his legs on either side of the blond's body and his arms wrapped around his neck. Sanji moved his legs up enough that Zoro cold clip the straps on his thighs to the chest harness again, and the end result was that Law's legs were trapped between the straps. "Okay?" Law asked softly and Sanji nodded, bucking his hips a little and savoring the choked-off moan he got at the action. "Zoro, if you'd please…" he cut off with a gasp when Zoro lifted both of them easily and lay back, easing Sanji onto his own slicked cock.

Sanji burrowed his nose against Law's neck, breathing harshly and feeling Law's fingers scrubbing through his hair as he kissed his temple.

Zoro's hands settled on his hips as the other man leaned back against the wall. Sanji tried to get used to the position, but his senses were completely overloaded by the feeling of Zoro's cock in him and the heat of Law's body around his own erection. It was the best type of torture, being unable to do anything but lie there and _feel. _

"You're okay," Law whispered, kissing his forehead tenderly. "Let us know when you're ready."

Sanji took a deep breath, his fingers scrabbling for purchase on something and only succeeding in sliding on Zoro's sweat-slick chest.

"Sanji, hey," Zoro murmured, catching his hands and stilling them. "We've got you, okay?"

He mumbled something around the gag, trying to sort out his thoughts. It wasn't easy, of course, but something about this was making him feel that familiar rising panic in his chest that he needed to _get out _and he wasn't sure why.

"Give me a signal and I'll have you out of here in a second," Law's voice was shaking a little and Sanji forced himself to relax, knowing it was true.

Of course he wasn't trapped. He was probably in the safest place he could be in the entire fucking world, and just because it was an unfamiliar position didn't mean that had to change.

He shook his head, nosing against Law's neck again and letting his body go limp. He had to, he realized, because the only way this would work was if he let them move _him _instead of trying to set the pace by himself.

"Okay," Zoro reached around to grip Law's thighs, pulling him farther up, and Law braced his feet on the ground and leaned forward. "D'you wanna start?"

"That's probably easiest," Law reasoned, setting his hands on Zoro's shoulders and rolling his hips. Sanji felt his eyes damn near roll back as Zoro matched his rhythm after a few thrusts, and fuck, it was probably a good thing they were all as…connected emotionally as they were.

It meant that Zoro and Law were almost fucking each other _through _him, like he was part of both of them, and he decided to let go and trust them to catch him as he leaned his entire weight back on Zoro.

The movement caused the other man to buck his hips up sharply, breaking their rhythm, but it made Law gasp and Sanji moan around the gag, his toes curling.

"Hold on," Zoro gripped his hips now, lifting both his body and Law's and pulling Sanji back onto his cock, and it was a damn good thing Zoro was so strong because Sanji knew most normal guys wouldn't have been able to even do that much.

The pace he set the was fast, fucking Sanji with an almost frantic sort of desperation that spoke to how long it had been since _they'd _actually done this as well, and every drive of his hips, pushed Sanji's up into Law.

"_Fuck," _Law hissed, bracing his hands on Zoro's shoulders and leaning over Sanji's head to kiss him. It was sloppy, broken by harsh gasps and Sanji's own noises that even the gag couldn't muffle. He could tell when Zoro was close, feeling the change in his breathing and the clenching of his muscles that told Sanji he was trying to hold off.

"Mm, no, come," Law murmured, and Sanji felt a quickly suppressed spark of all-too-familiar jealousy that Law could tell as easily as him even though he hadn't spent nearly as much time with Zoro. "Come on, Zoro."

Zoro groaned against his lips and did, yanking Sanji back onto his cock and making the blond yelp. He held Sanji's hips down through his orgasm, his chest pressed to Sanji's back as he mouthed against the back of his neck.

"Fuck," he sighed, sounding completely sated, and Sanji moaned again, finally moving his own hips and making Law whine low in his throat.

"Hold on," Law told him, giving him a smirk, and he kept his real hand braced on Zoro's shoulder while he turned his vibrating hand on and wrapped it around his cock before starting to ride Sanji.

Sanji let out a garbled sort of sound he'd probably be embarrassed about forever, a line of saliva slipping out from around the gag, running down his chin and over his throat.

He felt _dirty, _and used, and for once he couldn't even care because he could feel the vibrations through his own body and all he wanted was to chase his release and come so hard he forgot about everything but how he felt in that moment.

Zoro had an arm clamped around his chest now, holding him steady as Law fucked himself onto Sanji's cock, and the swordsman pressed his mouth to Sanji's ear and growled out words that Sanji couldn't even process but he knew they were filthy.

"Sanji…are you…" Law asked, his mouth hanging open and his eyes glazed, and Sanji nodded. "Good. Good, you can…_ha…_I…" he shivered and came, just like that, cum streaking across Sanji's abs and the clench of his ass muscles around Sanji's cock was all the blond needed to reach his own climax.

He could feel blood roaring in his ears, his body convulsing and his breath coming far too quickly, and then everything went dark.

000

He opened his eyes and blinked, licking his lips and realizing first that the gag was gone and secondly that he could move his legs, which meant that the thigh cuffs had been unclipped. His arms were still bound and he could tell they hadn't moved, so whatever had happened probably only lasted a few seconds at most, but he still felt disoriented and light-headed.

"Wh-" he started, coughing and then swallowing to moisten his dry throat. "Um…"

"Guess we're better than we thought, huh?" Zoro chuckled in his ear, his hands running up and down Sanji's chest.

"How are you feeling?" Law asked, grimacing as he lifted his hips enough to let Sanji's cock slip from his body.

"Kinda out of it," Sanji admitted, knowing it was useless to lie to Law, especially about medical things.

"You'll be fine," Law smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "It was probably a combination of sensory overload and not being able to get enough air through your nose, but it's not dangerous," he promised, and Sanji believed him. "I feel like it was too much, though…"

"It was good," Sanji promised. "I mean, it was fucking uncomfortable as hell at first, but once I let myself get into it…" he shrugged, feeling Zoro unclip the wrist cuffs and bringing his hands forward. He let them rest on Law's hips, stroking his skin, and Law looked relieved.

"Still…"

"Law," Sanji craned his neck up and pressed a kiss to the other man's stomach. "Did you see how fucking hard I came? Because that should tell you if I enjoyed it or not," he groaned then, a little embarrassed that he'd _fainted, _and buried his face against Law's chest.

"Don't worry, Cook, I'm not gonna tease you about it. At least, not _that _much," Zoro chuckled in his ear before gently lifting Sanji's body off of his cock. Sanji didn't move, knowing his legs probably wouldn't support him yet, and Law lay backwards on the soft carpet and pulled Sanji on top of him.

"Mm," Sanji knew they all needed a shower, or at least a damp cloth to clean up with, but he couldn't be bothered to move right then. Zoro curled up against Law's side, his hands still touching Sanji's skin wherever they could, and Sanji breathed out slowly.

He felt amazing, and he knew he'd probably be sore as hell in the morning, but he couldn't bring himself to care about anything other than what he was feeling right in that moment.

"Law," he muttered, getting a sleepy grunt in return. "Next time, I'm tying you up."

Law let out a breathy laugh and kissed him, lingering for just a moment before he pulled away, and Sanji knew he was more than okay with the idea.

Now, Sanji just had to figure out what _exactly _he wanted to do.

**Notes:**

**1\. **I'm going to just…drop this chapter here and…and…yeah…*coughs loudly and runs away*


End file.
